The 100
by SingStar234
Summary: Set 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse destroyed the earth. On-board a dying space station, the Ark, has begun running out of air. 100 teenage prisoners are sent to the ground to see if it is survivable. On the ground they will be tested by the Earth, the secrets it hides and most of all: themselves.
1. Returning Home

_'I feel the sun on my face. I see trees all around me, scent of wildflowers on a breeze. It's so beautiful. In this moment, I'm not stranded in space.'_

Hiccup Haddock sat kneeling on the floor of his cell. With a small piece of chalk in his hand he drew on the floor around him. He drew what he imagined the tree's looked liked, what the grass, bushes, waterfalls looked liked.

 _'It's been 97 years since a nuclear apocalypse killed everyone on Earth, leaving the planet simmering in radiation. Fortunately, there were survivors, at the time of the bombs. There is now only The Ark, one station forged from the many. We're told the Earth needs another 100 years to become survivable again, and man can go home, back to the ground. The ground, that's the dream. This is reality.'_

As Hiccup finished shading in his imagination of a forest there was a bright light that appeared in his cell. He turned around to see his cell door open and two guards walk into the room.

"Prisoner 319, face the wall." One of the guards instructed.

 _'Reality sucks.'_

Hiccup stood up with no complaining and faced the wall behind him. As he stood in front of the wall he became curious as to why the guards were here.

"What is this?" He asked calmly.

"Quiet." The other guard ordered. Hiccup turned his head slightly to see the first guard walk up to him, holding what looked like a metal bracelet, maybe a tracking devise since it had a small screen and a few buttons.

"Hold out your right arm." The guard ordered. Hiccup imminently held his right arm with his left hand.

"No, no it's not my time. I don't turn 18 for another month." Hiccup told them, though the guard ignored him.

"Hold out your arm." The guard ordered again. "Take of your watch." Hiccup then held his right arm to his chest.

"No, it was my mothers." He told them.

 _'On The Ark, every crime, no matter how small, is punishable by death - unless you're under 18.'_

"Hold out your arm." The guard ordered again, stepping closer to Hiccup. The other guard behind the first one whipped out a long stick that began to make a charging noise. It was a taser.

"No!" Hiccup yelled as he pushed the guard in front of him to the floor. He quickly dodged the second guard as he went to tase him, but was able to grab his hand and force him to tase himself.

 _'Juvenile offenders get put here lockup. We call it the sky box.'_

Hiccup managed to get out of his cell and slam the door shut. As he ran out, he looked over the railing looking down at the other prisoners. All prisoners doors were open and the guards were leading other teenage prisoners out of their cells. Hiccup looked at everything that was happening around him in confusion. Were they all going to be executed today? Was he going to die today?

"Prisoner 319!" Hiccup looked behind him to see that the two guards had made it out of his cell. How? He shut the door.

Hiccup got ready to run again when a voice sudden called out his name. A voice he had not heard for nearly a year.

"Hiccup, stop!" Hiccup looked over to his right to see his father, the chief of the Ark, standing about 30 feet away from him.

"Dad?" Hiccup spoke.

"Wait here." Stoick told the guards behind him and began to walk over to his son. As he approached him, Hiccup began to take a step back. He was the whole reason he was here.

"Dad, what the hell is going on?" Hiccup asked.

"Hiccup, let me explain," Stoick began to say.

"They're killing us, aren't they? You all are doing it to reduce population, just so we won't waste any oxygent. To make more time for all of you!" Hiccup began to shout.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled as he stepped towards Hiccup grabbing him by the tops of his arm. "Listen to me. You are not being executed. You are being sent to the ground. All 100 of you."

"But its not safe!" Hiccup yelled, trying to get away from his fathers grip. "We don't get reviewed an till we're 18, that's the rule!"

"No son, the rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live." Stoick explained to him.

"Why did the rules change suddenly? Who's idea was it?" Hiccup asked.

"Mine." Stoick told him. Before Hiccup to say anything he felt pain enter his body from his back and his world met the darkness.

 **xXx**

The first thing Hiccup felt when he woke up was pain. Pain in his body, but mostly in his right arm. He could hear talking in the background. He looked down at his right hand to see the metal wristband attached to his wrist.

"Welcome back." A female voice said from his right. Hiccup looked up to see Astrid Hofferson staring at him. She was strapped into a seat, much like he was. She also had a wristband on her right wrist.

"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Hiccup asked her. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Same reason as you." Astrid told him. Suddenly there was a loud crash and the lights inside of the pod began to flicker. Everyone began to look around the pod, slightly panicking. Hiccup then looked around the room to see other prisoners also seating down strapped in, some standing up.

"What the hell was that?" Astrid said looking around.

"That was the atmosphere." Hiccup told her. The lights in the pod suddenly began to fade out, and all of the TV's around the pod turned on. Stoick appeared on the screen.

"Prisoners of the Ark. Hear me. You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us, indeed for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there. If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable."

"You're father is a dick, Haddock." One of the male prisoners yelled from the pod. Hiccup ignored the comment and carried on watching the TV screen.

"The drop sight has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain 300 people for up to two years."

"Isn't that on Berk?" Hiccup muttered to himself, remembering reading about a mountain called that.

Suddenly one of the male prisoners around Hiccup's age unbuckled himself from his seat and he began to float in the air.

"Spacewalk bandit strikes again." The teen said as he began to so flips in the air.

"Yeah, go Snotlout!" One of the prisoners yelled. Snotlout the laid in the air in front of Hiccup and Astrid with his hands folded behind his head.

"Looks like your dad floated me after all, cuz." Snotlout said to Hiccup. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy." Hiccup told Snotlout. Two of Snotlout's friends also began to unbuckle themselves from their seat.

"I really don't think that is a good idea." A male prisoner said. Hiccup looked over to the owner of the voice to recognised it as his old friend, Fishlegs.

"Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately." Stoick said from the screen.

"Hey, you're the one who snuck into the medical bay and stole high-priority medicine." Snotlout said pointing to Astrid.

"You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk." Astrid told him.

"Yeah, and it was fun." Snotlout said with a smirk.

"Your one responsibility is to stay alive." Stoick told them. Hiccup looked away from the screen to see the two prisoners from earlier fully strapped out of their seats and now slightly floating.

"Stay in your seats!" Hiccup yelled over to the two prisoners. Before anything could be said there was a sudden jolted and began to violently shake around. The parachutes have deployed. Snotlout and the other two prisoners were thrown across the room. People began to scream in terror as sparks flew around them.

"Snotlout, are you okay?!" Hiccup yelled over to his cousin. He didn't respond.

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark in the Tech room, Stoick entered the room to see pictures of all of the prisoners. Stoick looked around the room to see one of his good friends, Gobber, walk up to him. "Talk to me, what has happened?"

"Total system failure, that's what we're looking at. All we know for sure is that they were off course when we lost contact with them." Gobber told him

"What about communications?" Stoick asked.

"Other than the telemetry from their wristbands, we got nothing no audio, no video, no computer link. Everything that we programmed in to help them is gone. They're on their own." Gobber told him. Stoick sighed as he looked back over to the big screen and looked at the picture of his son.

 **xXx**

"Retrorockets ought to have fired by now!" Fishlegs screamed over the loud noises the pod was making as it got closer to the ground.

"Everything on this ship is 100 years old, right? Just give it a second!" Hiccup yelled.

"Oh my Thor! This is awesome and scary!" A prisoner yelled out. If Hiccup wasn't scared at the moment he would of rolled his eyes. He then looked over to Astrid, who was holding onto her straps for dear life with her eyes closed.

"Astrid, there's something I have to tell you!" Hiccup yelled over the loud noise. Astrid turned her head to him. "I'm sorry your uncle got arrested."

"Don't you dare speak about him!" Astrid yelled at him.

"Please Astrid, I can't die knowing you hate me!"

"Your father didn't arrest my uncle, Hiccup. He executed him! How could I not hate you?!" Astrid yelled with tears now in her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Hiccup told her.

"Sorry isn't going to bring him back!" Astrid pointed out. Before anything the pod made a loud crashing noice and the lights all turned off. The sound of the engine slowly faded away and the lights flicked back alive.

"Listen," Fishlegs said, "no machine hum."

"That's a first." Snotlout said as he stood up. Everyone quickly began to unbuckle themselves from their seats and stood up, except for the once that were already standing.

"The outer door is on the lower level, lets go!" Someone shouted.

"No!" Astrid yelled as she and Hiccup finished unstrapping themselves. "We can't just open the doors!" She quickly followed the prisoners down the ladder, Hiccup right behind her. As he ran up to the ladder he saw all the prisoners pushing forward, all trying to get to the door. The only person standing in their way was a man, slightly older that Hiccup, pushing them all back.

"Everyone, quite it! Get back!" He ordered.

"Stop!" Hiccup yelled before sliding down the ladder. He quickly made his way through the crowed and up to the man, he looked familiar to him but he put it to the back of his mind. "The air could be toxic."

"If the air is toxic, we're all dead anyway." He stated. He went to pull down the leaver that would open the doors when a female voice stopped him.

"Dagur?" He stopped and turned around to see a girl around Hiccup's age, with night black hair, standing a ladder. She climbed the rest of the way down and made her way through to crowed towards him. She stopped and stared at him.

"Look at you, all grown up." Dagur said to her with a smile. She suddenly threw her arms round his neck and embraced him. She then looked down to see what he was wearing.

"What the hell are you wearing? A guards uniform?" The girl said in confusion.

"I borrowed it, to get on the drop ship." He told her. "Someone has to keep an eye on you." Hiccup watched the scene in front of him and noticed something the was different about Dagur to everyone else.

"Where is your wristband?" Hiccup asked. The girl turned around and gave him a dirty look.

"Do you mind. Haven't seen my brother for years." She told him.

"Only the Twins have a brother!" A male prisoner yelled.

"That's Heather. The girl they found hidden under the floor." A female prisoner told them. Heather looked at them with anger before trying to run over to them, but Dagur stopped her.

"Heather, stop. Let's give them something else to remember you by." Dagur told her. Heather stopped struggling and looker at her older brother.

"Yeah, like what?" She asked.

"Like being the first person on the ground in 100 years." Dagur told her while smiling. Heather smiled back. Dagur turned back round and placed his hand on the lever. He yanked in down and the opened with a thud and smoke. Everyone looked around as they took their first ever breath of the fresh air. The wind blew in against their face and through their hair for the first time. Trees, grass, dirt and so much more surrounded them, a forest. The light of the sun flickered through the trees, hitting their skin for the fist time in their lives.

Heather stepped forward and let her head fall back as she took a deep breath of the fresh air. Dagur smiled as he watched her experience this moment. Heather walked to the edge of the metal platform and stood still. The the first time in her life she would not walk on a metal floor. She bent her knees slightly and jumped of the metal floor onto the dirt ground, making the first footprint on the earth in 100 years. She smiled at the feeling of the floor. She quickly placed her hands in the air.

"We're back, you half-trolls!" She cheered.

Everyone on the drop ship cheered together and one by one each of them ran onto the ground and into the forest. They all began to either just jump in the ground or run around on it, they didn't really care. They were finally free from the darkness of space.

Hiccup placed his feet on the ground for the first time in his life. He looked up from the dirty floor and round the forest, smiling in excitement and joy. He began to make his way through the forest and to a edge of a hillside they were standing on. He opened up a map, which he found on the drop ship, and began to study it. Through the trees he could see a mountain peek. The one they were suppose to be standing on at this moment.

"Why so serious, cuz?" Snotlout asked as he walked next to his cousin. "Its not like we died in a fiery explosion."

"Do you see that peek over there?" Hiccup asked as he pointed to the mountain in front on them, ignoring what Snotlout had said.

"Yeah, so?" Snotlout asked, not understanding were Hiccup was going with this.

"That's where the G.U.N bunker is. Right now, there's a radiation soaked forest between us and out next meal." Hiccup told him. Snotlout gave him a blank look. Hiccup sighed in frustration. "They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain."

 **xXx**

Using the drop ship door Hiccup laid the map and began planing a rout to get to the G.U.N base. While he was busy the rest of the teenage prisoners walked around exploring or relaxing.

"We got problems." Fishlegs said as he walks over to Hiccup. "The communications system is dead. I went to the roof. A dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires."

"Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather." Hiccup told him. He then gestured for Fishlegs to get down to the same level as Hiccup. He pointed to a spot on the mark. "See? Look. This is us." He pointed to a red dot marked on the map. "This is where we need to get to if we want to survive."

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Fishlegs and Hiccup looked behind them to see Astrid standing behind them looking down at the map.

"My mother." Hiccup told her. No one said anything.

"Ah, cool, a map." Snotlout said as he walked over to them. "They got a bar in this town? I'll buy you a beer." Snotlout said giving Astrid a wink. Astrid grabbed hold of his arms and yanked him away from her. Hiccup quickly stood up and grabbed Astrid by the top of her arm. She quickly yanked her arm away from him and looked back over to Snotlout.

"You mind?" Astrid said as she walked closer to Snotlout.

"Relax. We're just trying to figure out where we are." Hiccup told him.

"We're on the ground." Dagur yelled over to Hiccup, with Heather standing next to him. "That not good enough for you?"

"We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority." Hiccup told them.

"Screw your father." Snotlout told him. "What, you think you're in charge here?"

"Do you think I care who's in charge?" Hiccup asked him. "We need to get to Mount Weather, not because my father said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a 20-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."

"I got a better idea." Dagur told them as he pointed to Astrid and Hiccup. "You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change." Everyone began to agree with what Dagur was saying.

"You're not listening. We all need to go." Astrid told him.

"Look at this, everybody the Chief of Earth has a princess." Snotlout said as he looked around at everyone. "And she's even to cute for him."

"You think that's funny?" Astrid asked as she took a step forward to Snotlout. Snotlout didn't say anything, but instead just smirked at her. Astrid goes to punch him but Hiccup grabs hold of her arm.

"Astrid, don't." Hiccup told her. Astrid listened to him and began to walk away.

"Yeah Astrid, let you prince do all the fighting for you." Snotlout said as he used his leg to trip Hiccup over. Hiccup fell onto the floor with a thud. Everyone around them began to laugh.

"Hiccup." Fishlegs called as he went to help his friend, but was stopped by the other prisoners. Hiccup slowly tried do get back up but fell over again. Snotlout laughed as he walked over to Hiccup and kicked his left leg hard, Hiccup however didn't even flinch in pain.

"Oh, did I hit the wrong leg?" Snotlout asked, knowing what was wrong with his cousins leg. Hiccup looked up at Snotlout with a death-glare. Snotlout laughed and began to walk away. Hiccup began to stand up again using his right foot for support. Snotlout turned around. "Come on then, cuz. Just like old times." Hiccup and Snotlout glared at each other.

Suddenly a person jumped in front of both of them. It was Heather. Heather looked at Hiccup before looking over to Snotlout. "He's got one leg. Why not wait till its a fair fight?" Snotlout gave her a flirty look.

"Only cause you asked so nicely." Snotlout told her before walking of with some of his prison mates. Heather let out a frustrated sigh before walking over to Astrid.

"Does he always flirt?" Heather asked Astrid. Astrid looked over to Snotlout, who was talking to the prisoners.

"You should of seen him when he wasn't in prison. Tried to pick up every girl on the Ark." Astrid told her.

"He is so not my type." Heather commented. Astrid looked at her.

"Yeah, so who is your type?" Astrid asked. Heather didn't say anything, instead looked over to Hiccup and Fishlegs, but more to the right where Fishlegs was standing. Astrid's eye's widened.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid asked in shock while pointing behind herself. Heather shrugged.

"What? He's cute." Heather told her.

"Who's cute?" Heather looked behind her to see Dagur approaching the pair.

"Fishlegs." Heather told her brother. Dagur rolled his eyes before taking his sister by the arm and dragging her away from Astrid.

"He's a criminal." Dagur told her.

"They're all criminals." Heather pointed out.

"Look, Heath, I came down here to protect you." Dagur told her as they came to a stop.

"I don't need protecting." Heather said to her older brother. "I have been locked up one way or another all my life. I am done following orders. I need to have fun, Bell. I need to just do something crazy just because I can, and no one, including you, is gonna stop me."

"I can't stay with them, sis." Dagur told her.

"Now what are you talking about?" Heather asked. Dagur looked around to see if anyone was near them enough to hear what he was about to say.

"I did something, okay, to get on the drop ship. Something that they will kill me for when they come down. I can't say what it is just yet, but you have to trust me. You do still trust me, don't you?"

"Yeah." Heather answered.

 **xXx**

Back with Hiccup and Fishlegs, who were now sitting on the dirty floor with the map in front of them. Astrid walks over to them.

"So Mount Weather." Hiccup and Fishlegs look up at her. "When do we leave?" Hiccup gave her a confusing look.

"You're coming?" Hiccup asked. Astrid shrugged her shoulder.

"Haven't got anything better to do." Astrid told him. "So? When?"

"Right now." Hiccup told her.

"How are the three of us gonna carry enough food for 100 people?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup. Hiccup quickly began to think of a plan, but was stopped when Astrid turned around and grabbed hold of two people who were standing behind her. It was a boy and a girl prisoner, both looking like twins.

"Make it 5." Astrid told him. The two prisoners looked suddenly excited.

"Wait, are we going on a suicide mission?" The male prisoner asked.

"Well, kind of." Hiccup told him.

"Aw yeah!" The two prisoner yelled before high-fiving each other.

"Sounds like a party to me." The 5 prisoners looked over to see Heather walking over to them. "Make it 6."

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Dagur asked as he walked over to his sister.

"Going for a walk." She told him.

"Hey," Hiccup said as he walked over to the male twin. He took hold of his right arm and looked at the wristband. It was dented and cracked, "were you trying to take this off?"

"Yeah. So?" The male twin asked.

"So this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark. Take it off, and they'll think you're dead." Hiccup told him.

"Should we care?" Astrid asked him. Hiccup turned around and looked at her.

"Well, I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying." Hiccup told her. Astrid didn't say anything and looked away from him. "Okay. Now let's go."

Everyone, minus Heather and Dagur began to walk of into the forest. Heather looked back at her brother with pleading eyes. Dagur sighed. "Go on." Heather grind before quickly hugging her brother and running of with the group.

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark Stoick was watching the vital signs of the 100 prisoners. Gobber walked up to Stoick also watching the vital signs.

"How's he doing?" Gobber asked, knowing Stoick will know what he meant.

"His vital signs are strong. He seems to be doing okay." Stoick told him. "His heart was racing a couple of minutes ago, but it soon slowed down."

"What do you think that was all about?" Gobber asked. Stoick shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Know what he was like, he properly got himself into some trouble." Stoick told him.

"Most likely with my son." Gobber and Stoick turned around to look at Spitelout, who was standing behind them. "His heart was racing a little as well, but not as fast as your sons."

"If I had to guess Snotlout was using him as a punch bag." Gobber said, quickly regretting what he said as Stoick gave him a mad glare.

"My son is a fighter, he will make a great leader down there." Spitelout told him.

"Your son doesn't have the brains to be a good leader. Because of him and his foolish actions we lost months worth of oxygent." Stoick pointed out.

"Because of your son we could of had a major panic on the Arc." Spitelout told him getting up into Stoick's face. "Which one of our sons actions would of affected the people most?"

 **xXx**

Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Heather and now known as Ruffnut and Tuffnut, walked through the forest, past broken trees and bushes of purple flowers. Heather stopped walking and picked one of the purple flowers and placed it in her raven hair just above her left ear.

"That, my friend, is game." Tuffnut said to Fishlegs.

"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Fishlegs told him. Heather, who heard them quickly pulled the flower from her hair.

"What? It is?" Heather asked.

"The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal, calming, actually." Fishlegs told her.

"Where did you find that out?" Astrid asked.

"I did a lot of reading on the Ark." Fishlegs told her.

Hiccup stopped and turned around to see the group was further away from him than he expected them to be. "Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?"

"Come on, Hiccup. How do you block all this out?" Heather asked as she gestured everything around her.

"Well, it's simple." Hiccup told her. "I wonder, 'why haven't we seen any animals?' Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us."

"Someone should slip him some poison sumac." Astrid commented before following him. Heather laughed while Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other before following them.

"So what did you both get arrested for?" Fishlegs asked the twins.

"Well, we were having a pretty boring day on the Ark," Tuffnut began to tell them.

"And we wanted to give the head of the guard a nice birthday gift." Ruffnut told them.

"So, we snuck into the chemical laboratory and did our own little experiment, if you know what I mean." Tuffnut said.

"Oh, I don't like where this is going." Fishlegs commented.

"Lets just say the head of the guard didn't like the smell of the bomb we mad him." Ruffnut told him.

"You ended up giving the whole corridor a sickness virus that lasted 2 weeks." Astrid told them without turned around to face them.

"How about you, Heather? What'd they get you for?" Ruffnut asked. Heather didn't answer for a second and didn't stop walking to turn around.

"Being born." She told them before running ahead.

"That is so not game." Tuffnut commented.

"Hey, you know what I'd like to know?" Tuffnut said. "Why send us down today after 97 years? What changed?"

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did." Heather told him. "I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest." Heather sang as she began to spin around a tree.

"Maybe they found something on a satellite, you know, like an old weather satellite or-" Fishlegs began to say but was cut of by Hiccup.

"It wasn't a satellite, Fishlegs you know it. The Ark is dying." Hiccup told them. Everyone stopped and turned around to face Hiccup who continued to walk. "At the current population level, there's roughly 3 months left of life support, maybe 4 now that we are gone."

"So that was the secret they locked you up to keep?" Astrid asked him. "Why they kept you in solitary, floated your mother?"

"My mother was the engineer who discovered the flaw. She thought the people had a right to know. The council disagreed. My father disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public anyway. That when the guards came to take her. She wasn't floated. She escaped using one of the old drop pods. It was too old to use and blew up." Hiccup told them

"So your dad? He turned her in?" Ruffnut asked.

"It was either that, or cause the panic. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time." Hiccup told him.

"And Fishlegs, you knew about this?" Astrid asked him. Fishlegs nodded.

"I tried to help them go public. I was able to hack into their system but before we could broadcast we got caught." Fishlegs told her.

"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?" Tuffnut asked. Hiccup didn't answer.

"Good." Heather commented as she walked past the group. "After what they did to me, I say, float them all."

"You don't mean that." Fishlegs told her as he followed her. Astrid walked over to Hiccup and stood in front of him.

"We have to warn them." Astrid told him.

"That's what my mother said." Hiccup told her. Astrid and Hiccup stared at each other for a couple of more seconds before Astrid made a move to turn around, only to bump into Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs?" Astrid said as she walked around him, seeing he was staring ahead of him. Astrid and everyone else looked over to see what Fishlegs was staring at. It was Heather, who was standing next to a river, undressing herself into her underwear and t-shirt.

"Oh damn!" Tuffnut commented. All the guys, including Ruffnut, were staring at Heather, while Astrid's mouth was dropped open. Heather walked onto a rook and stood on the edge.

"Heather, what the hell are you doing?" Astrid asked her. Heather looked over her left shoulder, ignoring Astrid's question. She then jumped into the air and fell into the water with a splash. The group quickly ran over to her, making sure she was okay. Heather had head eyes popping out of the water while the rest of her body was hidden under it.

"Heather, we can't swim." Ruffnut pointed.

"I know," Heather told them as the rest of her body popped out of the water, "but we can stand." She pointed out. Hiccup looked at the river with confusion.

"Wait, there's not meant to be a river here." Hiccup said.

"Well there is, so take off your damn clothes." Tuffnut told him. Everyone began to do just that. Heather stood up in the river, running her hands over her hair. What the group failed to notice was the bubbles and moment at the far end of the river. Just as Fishlegs was taking of his shoes he saw the snake-like creature makings it was towards Heather.

"Heather, get out of the water!" Fishlegs ordered her, with panic filling his voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing and saw what Fishlegs was talking about. Heather turned around and saw the creature swimming towards her. "Get out of the water now!"

Before Heather had a chance to move the creature pulled her down under the water with a scream. The group called her name. She thrashed about in the water before it suddenly became silence. The group stood in shock as to what had just happened, their eyes not leaving the spot in which Heather had just been brought to her death in. Or so they thought. Suddenly she resurfaced screaming and thrashing again. The group looked over to their left to where Heather now was. This broke them out of their shock and rushed over to help their prison mate.

"What the hell is that?" Astrid yelled.

"We have to help her!" Fishlegs shouted. Tuffnut quickly threw his jacket to the ground. Ruffnut saw this.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked.

"Try not to get eaten." He told her. He quickly went to run into the water but Hiccup stopped him.

"No. Wait." Hiccup said as he quickly knelt down onto the ground floor. "If we distract it, it might let her go." He then placed his hands on a large rock and tried to push it into the water, but was having no luck. "Help me!" Hiccup yelled. Astrid, Ruffnut and Tuffnut quickly began to help him while Fishlegs stood at the edge watching Heather dragged in the water still.

Finally what had seemed like an eternity the group finally pushed the large rock into the river. It let out a loud splash as it his the surface. The snake-like creature suddenly let go of her and quickly began to swim in the direction of the boulder.

"It worked! It let her go." Ruffnut told the group. Only now Heather hand no floor to place her feet on, and she couldn't swim.

"Can you get to the shore now?" Fishlegs yelled as he ran down the little hill they were on and jumped into the water to help Heather. He began to push Heather forward towards to rock, while trying to stay above the water himself. "I got you."

What they had failed to notice was that the creature was swimming back towards them and a fast pace.

"It's coming back." Hiccup warned them.

"It's headed right for you!" Astrid yelled. Fishlegs continued to push Heather up the rock the best he could.

"Come on. Come on. Keep going." He encouraged her. Finally they where able to up the rock and away from the water creature. Heather began to take some deep breaths as the group ran over to the pair. Astrid knelt down next to Heather and saw she had a bloody graze at the top of her left leg. She ripped some of Fishlegs' shirt at the bottom and tied it around the top of her leg, above the wound. Heather threw her right arm over Fishlegs, he did the same.

"Thank you. Thank you." She repeated to him.

"You're gonna be okay." Astrid told her.

"Note to self next time, save the girl." Tuffnut joked as he patted Fishlegs' shoulder. Everyone laughed, forgetting about what had just happened.

 **xXx**

Back on the Arc Gobber was watching the screen as one by one the pictures went red, meaning no heart beat. Gobber sighed as he watched another one turn red, Snotlout. The door opened, causing Gobber to turned around and see Stoick walk into the room.

"What's happening?" Stoick asked as he looked at the screen.

"They're dying, one after the next." Gobber explained.

"How many?" Stoick asked.

"13 so far." Gobber told him.

"What's killing them?" Stoick asked. "The radiation?"

"Radiation doesn't work like that." Stoick and Gobber turned around to see and woman in her 30's walk into the room. She had long blond hair tied up in a pony tail, and a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Ingrid, glad you could come." Gobber said with a smile. Ingrid smiled back at him.

"I can't stay for long, I need to get to surgery, so tell me everything you know." Ingrid told him.

"Surgery? What happened?" Gobber asked.

"A commander got shot." Ingrid explained. "Don't have time to explain, so what do we know?"

"One second, they were fine, and the next, bang." Gobber told her.

"Then it isn't radiation." Ingrid told him. "One second, fine, the next, bang isn't how exposure to radiation presents."

"Well, it could be if there was enough of it." Gobber pointed out.

"If there was enough of it, they would all be dead." Ingrid told him.

"They what could it be?" Stoick asked. Ingrid glared at him.

"I don't know. The only way to find out would be to communicate with them some how." She told him with an attitude.

"Look, Ingrid, I know you don't like me very much-" Stoick began to say to her.

"You got that right." She told him.

"But we need to know if it is safe for us to travel down there." Stoick told her.

"The only reason I am helping you, or even speaking to you, is because my daughter is down there. And if she dies down there I swear to Thor-" Ingrid began to threaten but was cut of by someone approaching them.

"Stoick, look at plasma osmolarity." A woman said to him. Stoick, Gobber and Ingrid turned their attention to the screen. "It's going up across the board."

"They found water." Ingrid whispered.

"How many?" Stoick asked.

"6 of them." The woman replied. The three adults look around the board to see who had found the water.

"Hiccup." Stoick whispered.

"Astrid." Ingrid whispered also.

 **xXx**

It was the middle of the night on the ground. The groups of 6 were lying calmly on the dirty ground. Astrid stirred slightly in her sleep before opening her eyes. She woke up to the sound of the birds singing and the vibrating sounds of the bugs. She sat up and looked around the environment, seeing the plants on the trees glow in the dark. She looked behind her at the sleeping faces of her companions. She turned back round and stood up before taking a walk into the forest.

She walking through the forest taking everything in around her, feeling like the first time. She smiled. Looking over to her right she saw a rock-like figure with small flowers and plants covering it, all glowing a light blue colour in the darkness. She walks over to it and begins to observe it.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Astrid turns around to her left to see Hiccup standing a foot away from her staring at her. She looks at him, seeing her was holding a large leaf with water sitting inside it.

"Did you go to the river?" She asked.

"Figured it was worth losing a finger or two." He joked. "Here." He said as he held it towards her. Astrid takes the leaf and takes a small mouthful of the water into her mouth.

"You call that a sip?" He asked. She gave him a look before taking a bigger mouthful of water into her mouth. "You think this means we're all gonna grow two heads?" Astrid laughed at his joke. "What do you know? She can laugh." Astrid looked at him.

"Careful, the laughing will be coming not from your jokes but from your pain if you carry on." Astrid warned him. Hiccup laughed.

"Come on. You have to see this." Hiccup told her before walking around her at into the forest. Astrid quickly began to follow him. They didn't even go 10 feet before stopping. Hiccup knelt down to the ground. Astrid followed his actions. He then pointed to the ground, to a dent in the ground.

"That's a toe." He told her. Astrid looked at him in shock. "Plus, near as I can tell, whatever it is, it's walking on two feet. My Guess: monkeys." Astrid let out a burst of laughter for a second. Hiccup gave her a confusing look.

"I'm sorry. It's just, according to everything I've heard, there were no bipedal animals anywhere near here, certainly not monkeys." She told him.

"Right." He said. "You heard anything about glow-in-the-dark forests or man-eating snakes?" Hiccup asked her. Astrid nodded slightly.

"Okay, I'll give you that." Astrid told him. Hiccup then let out a sigh.

"Astrid, now that its just the two of us, I want to talk to you." He told her. Astrid looked at him, from where she was looking at the sky. "I'm sorry." Astrid sighed.

"Hiccup-" Astrid began to say.

"I know you hate me-"

"I don't hate you." Astrid told him. Hiccup gave him a confusing look. "Its just when ever I remember that moment my uncle got floated and I see you there doing nothing, it make you think things you shouldn't."

"Astrid, I was against having your uncle floated." Hiccup told her. "Yes, he may have stolen medicine, but he was doing to save you mothers life. That what I told my father, but he wouldn't listen."

"Is that why you hate him?" She asked. Hiccup sighed.

"I don't want to hate him, but he has made to many bad decisions. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be on death row, along with you and so many other teenagers here, and my mother would still be alive." He told her. "A lot of people hate me because of my father, if we are going to survive down here we are not going to live with his rule, we're going to live through mine."

 **xXx**

"How many now?" Stoick asked.

"18." Gobber answered. Stoick sighed and placed his head in his hands. He was sitting in his bedroom at a chair, Gobber had just walked in.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked.

"He's fine. Vital signs are normal." Gobber told him.

"If the radiation isn't killing them then what is?" Stoick asked Gobber as he stood up. Gobber shook his head.

"We don't know." Gobber told him. "All we know is that its the exact same thing for each of them. They are fine one minute, the next they are dead."

"Then how do we get in contact with them?" Stoick asked him.

 **xXx**

It was the next morning. Everyone was now at a river and had on way of getting across, and there was no way they were going to swim across. Thankfully there was a swing, or large vine, they could use to swing across to the other side. Right now Fishlegs and Tuffnut were standing onto of a rock while Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut and Heather were standing below them. Tuffnut was holding onto the vine getting ready to swing.

"You wanted to go first." Ruffnut pointed out. "Now quit stalling."

"I'm not stalling sis, I'm waiting." Tuffnut told her.

"That's the same as stalling." Astrid told him.

"Not quite, stalling is when-" Tuffnut began to say but was cut of by Heather.

"Oh, come on already. Mount weather awaits." Heather told him.

"Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine." Fishlegs whispered to him.

"The apogee like the Berserkers, right?" Tuffnut said.

"Apogee, not apache." Fishlegs corrected.

"He knows." Ruffnut told him.

"Today, Tuff." Hiccup told him.

"Aye, aye, captain." Tuffnut told him as he gave him a little salute. He then turned to Fishlegs. "See you on the other side." Tuffnut then leaned back getting ready to jump. Fishlegs looked away from him and at Heather who was staring at Tuffnut with a flirt-like look. Fishlegs then came up with an idea.

"Wait." Fishlegs quickly said, stopping Tuffnut from swinging.

"What?" Tuffnut asked him.

"Let me." Fishlegs told him. He and Tuffnut then looked down at Heather who was staring at the both of them. "I can do it." Tuffnut handed the vines over to Fishlegs who took them with a slight shaky hand. Tuffnut gave Fishlegs a pat on the back.

"Knew there was a bad-ass in there somewhere." Tuffnut told him. Fishlegs held onto the vines and looked ahead of himself, not sure as to if he wanted to do this now. Hiccup quickly ran up the small his and stood next to Fishlegs.

"Hey, it's okay to be afraid." Hiccup told his friend. "The trick is not fighting it." Fishlegs smiled and let out a big sigh.

"See you on the other side." Fishlegs told everyone as he looked down at the three girls. Hiccup and Tuffnut let out a little laugh. Fishlegs then lent back and let his feet of the ground.

"Ha! Whoo! Whoo!" Fishlegs cheered. Everyone looked at him with a nervous look. He then let go of the vines while he was still high in the air. He hit the ground and let out a grunt. Everyone quickly ran over to the edge and watched Fishlegs as he stood up. Tuffnut grabbed the vines. Fishlegs smiled as he looked around.

"We are apogee!" Fishlegs cheered.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yes! Whoo!" Everyone cheered to Fishlegs. Some jumped on the spot, others threw their hands in the air, and some clanged their heads with one another. Tuffnut then passed the vines over to Hiccup.

"Let's go, boyo." Tuffnut told him. "You're up." Hiccup let out a shaky breath before taking hold of the vines.

"Come on, Hiccup! You got this! Whoo! Apogee!" Fishlegs cheered. Everyone laughed looking around at each other. Fishlegs turned around and began to look around at where he was. It was then he saw something. A metal board, a poster. Not just any poster. "We did it! Mount weather!" They began to cheer again, some sighed in relief.

Suddenly that moment ended. Fishlegs was thrown of the ground and into a tree trunk, with a spear in his chest.

Everyone was silent, shock as to what had just happened. "Fishlegs. Fishlegs!" Hiccup began to yelled to his now dead best friend. Everyone began to grab hold of each other and pull each other down onto the ground, behind the large rook. They could hear movement in the trees and on the ground. The sound of old leafs been crushed and twigs being snapped. It was then Hiccup realised something.

"We're not alone."


	2. Earth Skills

_I was born in space._

 _I've never felt the sun on my face Or breathed real air or floated in the water._

 _None of us have._

 _For 3 generations, the Ark has kept what's left of the human race alive, but now our home is dying, and we are the last hope of mankind, to the ground._

 _Each of us is here because we broke the law._

 _On the ground, there is no law._

 _All we have to do is survive, but we will be tested by the Earth, by the secrets it hides, and most of all by each other._

Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Heather were all running threw the forest, away from what had just happened, where they had just seen their new friend, Hiccup's best friend, die right in front of their eyes. Die from the people of the ground, the people they were thought to be dead.

Hiccup stopped for a second and looked back, wanting to go back. Astrid stopped next to here but only to grab her arm.

"Hiccup! Come on." Astrid told him as she dragged him slightly through the forest. They carried on running, not stopping, not even for a breath. They was an till Ruffnut tripped and fell, fell in front of a skeleton. She froze in shock.

"Ruffnut." Heather said as she and Tuffnut began to help her up. "Come on!"

"We got to go!" Tuffnut told her. Everyone then stopped and looked around at the floor.

"Who are they?" Astrid asked. Hiccup picked up a skull, but it was bigger and wider than a normal skull.

"What are they?" Hiccup asked himself.

"We are so screwed." Ruffnut said. Suddenly there was a piecing scream, a familiar scream.

"Fishlegs." Hiccup breathed as he dropped the skull. "He's alive." He then took of in the direction of the scream, leaving behind everyone else.

"Hiccup, wait." Astrid yelled. Everyone then took after him, catching up really quick. Tuffnut then grabbed hold of him and stopped him from going out into the open.

"Stay out of the trees." Tuffnut told him. Everyone then looked over in front of them and saw no body, no Fishlegs.

"He was right there." Heather said pointing to the spot he was in.

"Where is he?" Astrid asked.

"They took him." Hiccup answered.

 **xXx**

"Talk to me, Gobber." Stoick said as he walked into the Tech room. He walked over to Gobber and another man who Gobber was talking to. Stoick recognised him as Sven.

"Rumours are spreading." Gobber told him. "Witnesses saw a drop ship launch."

"It's only a matter of time till the people figure out that we sent the hundred to the ground." Sven pointed out.

"Let the council worry about the people." Stoick told him. "I need you both focused on reestablishing communication with those kids. How many dark tiles?"

"23." Gobber told him. "We've been losing them at a steady rate all day."

"Stoick, these are different." Sven told him. "Vital signs spike for a longer duration before flat line; It looks like a pain response."

"This is what we'd expect to see with exposure to radiation." Stoick said.

"I know what it looks like but there's another explanation. Ingrid told us that isn't how radiation works." Gobber told them. "We just haven't found it yet."

 **xXx**

Back on the ground Hiccup and everyone were walking back to the camp when they heard a female scream. They ran on ahead to see Snotlout holding a teenage girl over a fire. Everyone was standing around, Dagur standing opposite watching it happen.

"We want the Ark to think that the ground is killing us, right?" Snotlout asked everyone. "Figure it'll look better if we suffer a little bit first."

"Let her go!" Snotlout was suddenly tackled to the ground. The girl quickly stood up and ran away from Snotlout. When the pair stood up Snotlout saw who had tackled him. It was Hiccup.

"Well, hello cuz. Hope you brought back the food cause I am starving." Snotlout told him as he patted his stomach.

"What the hell was that all about?" Hiccup asked as he pointed to the direction the girl had just ran of in.

"What, just having some fun." Snotlout told him. Astrid and the others then appeared from the trees. Heather was limping slightly.

"Heather." Dagur called as he ran over to his sister, helping her walk. "Where's the food?" Dagur asked.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Tuffnut told him as he and Ruffnut sat down on a rock.

"What the hell happened out there?" Dagur asked.

"We were attacked." Astrid told him.

"Attacked? By what?" Dagur asked.

"Not what. Who." Astrid told him.

"It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark, he wasn't the last grounder." Hiccup told them.

"It's true." Heather said. "Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong."

"There are people here, survivors. The good news is, that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us." Hiccup told everyone.

"The bad news is the grounders will." Astrid said.

"Where's the fat guy?" Dagur asked. Heather smacked him round the head.

"Fishlegs was hit." Astrid said.

"They took him." Heather told him. Hiccup then looked over at Snotlout and noticed something he wasn't wearing.

"Where is your wristband?" Hiccup asked. Snotlout smirked before pointing to the fire. Hiccup looked over and saw a handful of wristbands melting in the fire. "How many?"

"24 and counting." Snotlout told him. Hiccup shook his head.

"You idiots." Hiccup whispered. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing us!"

"We're stronger than you think." Dagur told him as he walked away from his sister and to a big group of prisoners. "Don't listen to him. He's one of the privileged. If they come down, he'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore! They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The grounders should worry about us!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" The prisoners cheered. Hiccup shook his head before walking off. Astrid saw him and quickly walked up to him.

"What do we do now?" She asked.

"Now we go after Fishlegs." He told her.

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark Stoick was in his chambers holding a silver ring in his hands. It was his wife's ring. He looked at it with a sad look on his face, always regretting the day she died. The day that caused his son to hate him. He looked up when he heard his door open. Gobber walked in.

"Spitelout planning a secret council meeting to vote on the culling." Gobber told him. "I need to know where you stand."

"I don't have a vote." Stoick told him. "You know that."

"They listen to you, Stoick." Gobber told him.

"Well, you don't." Stoick pointed out.

"I do when you agree with me." Gobber answered.

"The CO2 scrubbers are already failing." Stoick told him. "The symptoms of oxygen deprivation are everywhere, and worst of all in the children; They'll die first."

"You don't have to tell me that." Gobber said.

"Obviously I do." Stoick said. "Unless we act to reduce the population, everyone on-board this space station will be dead in 4 months."

"We have acted." Gobber said. "We put a hundred kids on the ground. We need to give them time-"

"There are 76 kids on the ground, Gobber." Stoick corrected him. "Including my son. 24 are already dead."

"I don't think so." Gobber said.

"But you have no proof." Stoick pointed out. "I understand have hope, but I am the Chief of the Ark, and hope isn't enough. Not when the end of the human race is at stake."

"Hope is everything, and the Chancellor that I voted for, he knew that." Gobber told him.

 **xXx**

Back on the ground, on the drop ship, Hiccup had just disconnected all of the restraints that were on the seats to keep them strapped in. He packed them in his back pack along with the map he had.

"There you are." Hiccup didn't need to turn around to see that it was Snotlout who walked into the drop ship. "When your father said they didn't leave us anything, he really meant it."

"Its not like he would bring anything down for us anyway." Hiccup told him. "He would want to keep everyone us there alive as long as possible."

"Yeah, and leave us down here to rot." Snotlout commented.

"Why are you here, Snotlout?" Hiccup asked as he stopped packing his bag.

"Just checking up on my favourite cuz." Snotlout told him. Hiccup gave him a look.

"Really, cause about 24 hours ago you were trying to kill me." Hiccup reminded him. Snotlout laughed.

"Oh come on, that us." Snotlout told him. "We fight all the time, its a way of showing our family love." Hiccup didn't say anything and carried on packing. "Nice pack."

"Seat belts and insulation." Hiccup told him. "Also packed part of the parachute, figured we could use it to carry out Fishlegs."

"Good, so when are we leaving?" Snotlout asked. Hiccup stopped what he was doing and looked at him with a serious look.

"You're not coming with us." Hiccup told him as he stood up and climbed down the ladder.

"You came back for reinforcements." Snotlout pointed out as he also climbed down the ladder. "I'm gonna help."

"Hiccup, he's right." Astrid said as she walked over to them. "As much as I hate to say it we need him." Snotlout smiled as he placed his hand round her shoulder.

"See, even she wants me come come along and keep you all company." Snotlout said. Astrid gave him a look that looked like she would vomit before grabbing his arm and throwing him over her shoulder. He groaned in pain. "I'm okay."

"I'm sorry, Astrid, but you're not going, either." Hiccup told her.

"Like hell I'm not." Astrid told him.

"You're too important." Hiccup told her.

"Excuse me?" Astrid asked.

"You were raised on the medical station." Hiccup pointed out.

"So?"

"So those who get hurt here you can heal." Hiccup told her.

"Well in case you didn't realise I'm not the only one who was raised on the medical station, plus I was also brought up learning to fight by my uncle." Astrid told him. "Those who get hurt out there I will be able to mend plus I will be able to help you fight of those who might attack you." Hiccup kept his eyes on her, realising he wasn't going to win.

"Fine." He told her. He then turned around and saw the twins walk into the room. "You ready?"

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither should any of you." Ruffnut told them like he was crazy.

"That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from 300 feet." Tuffnut told them.

"I didn't know he was smart." Snotlout whispered to Astrid.

"So what, we let Fishlegs die?" Astrid asked like they were joking. Hiccup turned back to her.

"That's not gonna happen." He told her. He then turned back to them.

"If you're not going to come then make yourselves useful." He told them. "Build a wall. Use the fallen trees." He then walked past them, along with Astrid and Snotlout.

Outside Heather was sitting on a rock with her left trouser leg rolled up while Dagur was cleaning it with a cloth. Heather groaned in pain as the material made contact with her wound.

"What the hell was it?" Dagur asked.

"I don't know." Heather answered. "The others said it looked like a giant snake."

"You could have been killed." Dagur told her.

"She would have been if Fishlegs didn't jump in to pull her out." Hiccup told him as he and Astrid and Snotlout walked over to them.

"You guys leaving?" Heather asked as she made her way to stand up. "I'm coming, too."

"No, no." Dagur answered as he stood up. "No way. Not again."

"He's right." Hiccup told her. "Your leg's just gonna slow us down." He then turned away from Heather and to Dagur. "I'm here for you." Dagur and everyone else looked at him with an confused look.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" Astrid asked.

"I hear you have a gun." Hiccup told him. Dagur didn't answer with his voice but instead lifted up his shirt showing a gun in his trousers.

"Good." Hiccup answered. He then walked past Dagur. "Follow me."

"And why would I do that?" Dagur asked. Hiccup stopped and turned around.

"Because you want them to follow you," Hiccup said and he nodded his head in the direction of the other prisoners, "and right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." Hiccup and Astrid then walked on ahead, Snotlout walked over to Dagur, waiting for him.

"Atom?" Dagur called as he began to put his jacket on. A male prisoner then walked over to him. "My sister doesn't leave this camp. Is that clear?"

"I don't need a babysitter." Heather told him, but he didn't listen to her. Dagur then looked right at him.

"Anybody touches her, they answer to me." Dagur told him. Atom nodded. "Let's go." Dagur said to Snotlout. They both then began to catch up to Hiccup and Astrid. Atom then walked over to Heather and helped her up.

"You're staying here." He told her. Heather then shrugged his hand of her arm.

"I'm gonna make your life a living hell." Heather promised him before limping off away from him.

"Those guys aren't just bullies, Astrid." Hiccup told her and they walked away from the camp. "They're dangerous criminals."

"Oh, I'm counting on it." Astrid told him. Behind them Snotlout and Dagur were walking about 10 feet away from them.

"Since when are we in the rescuing business, huh?" Snotlout asked.

"The Ark thinks we're dying." Dagur told him. "Once they think their prince is dead, they'll never come down. I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off his hand to do it."

 **xXx**

Back in the sky outside of the Ark was a person in a astronaut suit. After performing a check of the Ark from the outside they floated back into the Ark, performing a little flip stunt before landing on the ground. Suddenly the room filled with smoke.

"Damn it, Camicazi." Spitelout called from the other side of the door. "Wait for pressurisation." The person took of their helmet to show a teenager with brown hair and brown eyes. She was smiling.

"Sorry, boys." She told them. "Places to go." She said as she threw her helmet at Spitelout, who caught it and pasted it to a man behind her, Conrad. They then began to help her take of her suit. "Did anyone notice there's no damage to 'B' dock?"

"'B' dock's restricted." Spitelout told her. "You know that."

"What, are they gonna float me for looking?" Camicazi asked them. They didn't answer. "Guys, come on. An escape ship was launched. You're not curious about that?"

"It was not launched." Spitelout told her. "It was ejected. According to engineering, a routine maintenance accident forced them to eject."

"A maintenance accident that didn't cause any damage?" Camicazi asked. "That's a lie and you know it." They didn't answer again. Camicazi rolled her eyes before stepping out of the suit and began to undo her body suit she wore underneath. "Fine. Well, if that doesn't stir your tank, how about this? Why would they build a drop ship in the first place?" She asked as she took of her body suit and began to place her trousers on.

"Just slow down, all right? We need to check your vitals." Spitelout told her.

"I'll save you the trouble. I feel good." She told them as she threw her top on.

"Prison visiting day." Conrad said looking at her. "Tell that brother of your's I'll pay him the two days' rations I owe him when he gets out."

"It was 3 days." Camicazi corrected him. "Hey, stash my gear. I'll come back for it later." She said as she threw her arms through her jacket.

"Okay, Camicazi, stop." Spitelout told her. Camicazi stopped what she was doing and looked over to Spitelout.

"Lockup's been quarantined." He told her. "There's some kind of a virus. There's no visitation for at least two months. Sorry."

 **xXx**

Back at the camp everyone was doing their part. Some where helping with the wall, others where sitting around keeping each other company.

"Hey, I saw that." Heather said to one of the prisoners and she threw a twig at him. "You cheated."

"Hey, guys," Atom said over to the small group, "the wall's not gonna build itself."

"Walls won't stop what's out there." Heather pointed out. "We need weapons."

"So build weapons." Atom said as he walked over to the group. "Look, your brother wasn't kidding about that. He'll hurt them."

"Come on." Heather said. "We were just talking. You're too hot to be my brother's bitch."

"I'm no one's bitch." He told her.

"Mmm. Good." Heather said as she stood up from her seat. "Then prove it." She told him before walking away. She walked over to one of the male prisoners and whispered in his ear. She then led him to the drop ship and up the ladder. She was the first to make it to the top. When the male prisoner made it up he was suddenly pulled back down. Atom climbed up the ladder and sat on the edge.

"Nobody's bitch, huh?" Heather said. "Maybe one of these days you'll realise you can't control me."

"You know, that guy you with?" Atom said. "Did you know he was in for murder? You want to know something funny? I'm actually protecting him from you." Atom then began to climb back down the ladder, but not before taking the lift door and closing it.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!" Heather yelled as she began to try and open the door, but it wouldn't. It was locked.

"Consider yourself controlled." He told her.

"Is this all you got? They locked me under the floor for 16 years just for being born!" Heather yelled down at Atom. She stopped the banging and looked around the room. "This is nothing."

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark everyone was doing their daily routines. Stoick and Gobber had just walked past on of the council meeting rooms to see Spitelout talking with the council.

"Spitelout is lobbying for votes." Gobber told Stoick as they walked over past the room and into another. "We should, too."

"We'll have our chance at the briefing." Stoick told him.

"Excuse me! Chief Stoick!" Gobber and Stoick stopped walking and turned around to see Camicazi running over to them.

"Hello Camicazi, what can I help you with?" Stoick asked the teenager.

"I have a question about the quarantine." She told him. "A friend of mine is in lockup. I went to go see him. Instead, I saw an open air duct. Now, if there really was a virus, wouldn't you move to contain the airflow?"

"The virus isn't airborne." Stoick told her. "That's why the ducts are open."

"Can you tell me if he's okay?" She asked him. He shook his head.

"I can't. I'm sorry." He told her.

"No, you're not." She said. "First the drop ship, now this. The council's hiding something, and I'm gonna find out what it is." And with that she turned and walked away.

"Hiccup's friend." Gobber said. Stoick nodded.

"Yes."

 **xXx**

Back with the small group of prisoners Hiccup and Astrid were walking far ahead, Snotlout and Dagur trying to catch up.

"Hey, hold up." Hiccup and Astrid stopped and turned around to see Snotlout and Dagur running up to them to catch up. Dagur was holding his gun out.

"What's the rush?" Dagur asked. "You don't survive a spear through the heart."

"Put the gun away, Dagur." Hiccup told him as he walked up to him.

"Well, why don't you do something about it, huh?" Snotlout asked as he held Hiccup back away from Dagur.

"Fishlegs screamed when they moved him." Astrid told them. "If the spear struck his heart, he'd have died instantly. It doesn't mean we have time to waste." Astrid went to walk away but Dagur grabbed hold of her arm, the arm that had the wristband on it.

"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go." Dagur told her. Hiccup pushed him back while Astrid ripped he arm away from him.

"The only way the Ark is gonna think I'm dead is if I'm dead." Astrid told him. "Got it?"

"Brave princess." Dagur told her. Astrid didn't do anything about it.

"And here I thought Astrid hated being called princess." Everyone turned around from where they had come from to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut walking over to them.

"And here I thought you two were scared of danger." Snotlout said.

"We laugh in the face of danger." Ruffnut told him.

"You call this a rescue party?" Tuffnut asked. "Got to split up, cover more ground."

"He's got a point. More chance of finding Fishlegs." Astrid told them.

"Okay, Astrid, your with me." Hiccup told her. She nodded. Both of them then began to walk away from the group, leaving the two pairs to pick for themselves who they would want to be with.

"I've been thinking about Mount Weather." Astrid said to Hiccup as they walked through the forest. "How come they didn't attack until Fishlegs crossed the river? It's not like we were being quiet and they didn't know we were there." Hiccup began to think about what she had just said. Its true, they didn't attack an till Fishlegs was on the other side, even though they knew that they where there.

"They waited for us to cross." Hiccup said. "The river's a boundary. Which means Mount Weather is off limits."

"How are we gonna get those supplies?" Astrid asked. What are we gonna do for food?" Hiccup began to think. It was then he eared something. He walked on ahead, with Astrid following him with confusion. He then leaned on a tree and saw what was ahead of them. Astrid quickly saw it and looked at it in shock and amazement. "Wow." It was a small river with a little waterfall.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about water." Hiccup joked. They walked over to it, standing on the rocks which sat in the river. Hiccup however went straight into the river, throwing the water onto his face. Astrid stood on the rocks and began to open a bottle to collect some water. Hiccup looked over to her and threw some water at her. Astrid stopped what she was doing and looked over to him.

"Come on, Hiccup." Astrid told him. "We don't have time for this."

"Astrid, we've been hiking for hours." He pointed out. "We need to take a little break."

"Why, are your feet hurting?" Astrid asked him.

"Foot." He corrected. Astrid looked at him with confusion, before remembering about his accident a couple years back.

"Oh, Thor, Hiccup. I am sorry." Astrid apologised.

"Ah, don't worry about." Hiccup told her, before getting a fun idea, "But to get you back," Hiccup then took hold of her arm and began to pull her forward into the river. She then realised what he was trying to do.

"No, no." Astrid told him as she tried to pull back, but he was a that little bit stronger that her and was able to pull her straight into the water.

"Hiccup! Don't!" He then went flying back as she went forward into the river. "Damn it, Hiccup!" Astrid yelled as she threw water at him. Suddenly she began to feel how nice the water was on her skin. "Oh, wow. Okay. Maybe just a minute."

"Yeah." Hiccup agreed as he leaned back slightly, relaxing.

"Hey, won't your leg start to rust?" Astrid asked. "Isn't it made of metal?" Hiccup shook his head.

"No, its made of rubber," Hiccup told her. "looks like any ordinary leg."

"Can I ask you a question?" Astrid asked.

"Sure." Hiccup said.

"Why are you so hell-bent on finding Fishlegs?" Astrid asked. Hiccup sighed.

"Fishlegs and I have been friends for years. He was really my only friend." Hiccup told her. "And after he got arrested trying to help me, even though he knew he would get floated for it, he still did."

"You and him always look out for each other." Astrid answered.

"Every memory I have, Fishlegs is there." Hiccup told her. Astrid looked at him with a sad look. Hiccup sighed and looked away from her, only too see something on the rocks ahead of them. Wanting to get a better look Hiccup began to walk through the water and over to the rocks, Astrid right behind him. Once their bodies were out of the river they saw what was on the rocks. Blood. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, knowing the same thing.

"Fishlegs." Hiccup said. "He was here. We should get the others." Astrid then knelt down and ran her hand over the blood so it was on her fingertips.

"We're close."

 **xXx**

Back on the Arc Stoick, Gobber and Sven were in a Tech room, different to the one they were usually in, trying to find a way to make contact with teenagers on the ground.

"Stoick, we have to stop." Gobber told him. "The council vote's in 30 minutes."

"Then we have 30 minutes." Stoick told him. "Anything from engineering?"

"Nothing good." Sven replied. "According to Sinclair, even if we sent a signal down, the wristbands weren't designed to receive, so the kids wouldn't even hear it."

"There's got to be something we missed," Stoick told him, "something that we haven't thought of." Just then the sound of metal clanging together was heard in the air ducts behind them.

"Great." Gobber commented. "What's falling apart now?" Stoick walked over to the air ducts, he unlocked the door with its code and opened it to see someone try and escape threw the air ducts again.

"Hey! Hey!" He called as he pulled her down. She stopped fighting him and stood up strait on the ground, realising she got caught. It was Camicazi. "Apparently you have a thing for air ducts."

"I'll call security." Sven said as he got up to get security.

"They're not dying." She told them. Sven stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at her, as did the other pair.

"What are you talking about?" Stoick asked. Camicazi looked at the board in front of her with all of the prisoners pictures on it.

"All that's being sent from the ground?" Camicazi asked. Gobber walked over to the table he and Stoick and Sven were at and picked up a wristband.

"Transmitted by these." Gobber told her. Camicazi took it into her hands and looked at it. She smirked before handing it back to Gobber.

"They're taking them off." She told them.

"What? Why would they do something so reckless?" Sven asked.

"Because we told them not to." Stoick said.

 **xXx**

"Hey, how do we know this is the right way?" Tuffnut asked.

"We don't." Snotlout pointed out. "Our prince here thinks he's a tracker."

"It's called 'cutting sign.'" Astrid told him. "Fourth-year earth skills. He's good."

"You want to keep it down or should I paint a target on your backs?" Dagur said. Hiccup ignored everything that was being said and carried on looking for clues as to where Fishlegs was. He walked over to the a bush that had a twig broken in half. He then knelt down and saw a small piece of blood. Astrid knelt down to have and look at it. They both looked at each other.

Suddenly a painful moan echoed through the forest. "What the hell was that?" Snotlout asked.

"Now would be a good time to take out that gun." Hiccup told Dagur before walking in the direction of the moaning. The walking soon became jogging as the group made it to a opening to fine Fishlegs, tied to a tree in the air.

"Fishlegs." Hiccup whispered as he saw his friend.

"Oh, my God. Fishlegs." Astrid said as she and Hiccup hurried over to the tree.

"What the hell is this?" Dagur commented. Before anyone could reply the ground beneath Astrid suddenly disappeared making her fall to the ground, or it would of if Hiccup didn't grab her in time. Both of them froze in shock, not sure as to what to do.

"Astrid! Get her up! Pull her up! Pull her up! Get her! Pull her up!" The group began to yell as they all began to help her up from the hole. Once out Astrid saw what she had almost fell into, a hole full of spears. She nearly died.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah." She told them. "We need to get him down."

"I'll climb up there and cut the vines." Tuffnut said as he walked over to the tree. "Sis, help me out."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you." Ruffnut groaned, not wanting to do it. "Hey, Space-walker, you too." Ruffnut called out. Snotlout rolled his eyes before walking over to help them.

"There's a poultice on his wound." Astrid pointed out.

"Medicine?" Hiccup asked. "Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?"

"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing." Dagur commented.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us." Ruffnut said.

 **xXx**

Back on the Arc the Council meeting had finally arrived. Right not Stoick, Gobber, Spitelout, Ingrid, and two other men Bucket and Mulch and another woman, Phlegma were all sitting round a table, discussing what to do about the prisoners.

"Data indicates that the violent criminals in the group are 8 times more likely to have terminated signals." Gobber explained. "We believe that this means that the kids are taking off the wristbands by choice."

"So how do you explain Snotlout?" Spitelout asked. "He wouldn't want me to think he was dead."

"Both our children have done things that we could never have predicted." Stoick told Spitelout. "The point holds. These children need more time."

"We don't have time." Spitelout said. "Engineering needs 6 months to fix life support, and we'll be out of oxygen in 4. Nobody wants to do this, but the inescapable fact is that for every day we delay, 10 more people will need to be sacrificed. So today it's 209, tomorrow it's 219. The day after that is 229. We're the ones who need more time. I move that we vote now."

"I second that." Mulch said.

"Very well." Ingrid said. "The matter before us requires a 4-vote majority to pass. A vote in favour is to vote to cull 209 citizens of the Ark from the supply grid in order to extend life support for those who remain by 6 months. All those in favour?"

"Aye." Spitelout, Mulch, and Bucket said.

"All those opposed?" Ingrid asked.

"Nay." Ingrid, Gobber and Phlegma said.

"Three votes to three." Ingrid said. "The Chief will break the tie."

"We didn't ask for this." Stoick sighed. "Ours was to be a transitional generation Ensuring that 3 generations from now mankind could go home. But everything has changed, and we will either be the generation that sees the human race return to Earth or upon whose watch It finally ends. My son is already down there. I sent him. And the truth is I don't know if he is alive or dead. But I still have hope."

"How does the Chief vote?" Phlegma asked.

"I don't." He answered.

"Sir, if you abstain, the vote ends in a tie to be automatically taken up again in 10 days." Phlegma told him.

"That's 10 more dead for every day." Spitelout pointed out.

"I ask again, how does the Chief vote?" Phlegma asked.

"The Chief abstains." He told her Spitelout threw his hands onto the table before storming out. Stoick then turned to Gobber.

"You have 10 days."

 **xXx**

"Hurry up, guys." Astrid said. Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout were still up in the tree untying Fishlegs from the tree. Suddenly a roar echoed through the woods. Everyone looked around, wondering what it was.

"What the hell was that?" Snotlout asked from the tree.

"Grounders?" Dagur guessed. Hiccup looked over through the bushes and saw a large green lizard like animal staring at them. It stood on two long back legs and had two small legs handing out of its front. It also had a long tail with a red end.

"Dagur, gun!" Hiccup called over. Just as Dagur went to grab the gun the creature hissed and disappeared like it wasn't even there.

"What was that?" Astrid whispered.

 **xXx**

"Did someone call for a mechanic?"Camicazi asked from behind the engine door. The door opened to reveal Gobber. "You're the one who called in the work order?"

"We need to talk." Gobber told her as he stepped to the side to let her into the room. Camicazi rolled her eyes before stepping into the room. Gobber closed the door behind her. Once Gobber walked back over to her Stoick appeared from round the corner.

"Look, I told you I'm not gonna say anything, okay?" She told him. Stoick nodded.

"I believe you, and you're not in trouble." Stoick told her. "The reason I have called you here if for 2 reasons."

"Which are?" She asked. Stoick didn't answered, but Gobber did.

"Follow me." He told her.

"Not in trouble yet, you mean." She muttered as she placed her case of tools on a table. She then looked around where she was. "This level's off limits for people like me."

"Not anymore." Gobber told her. Stoick then turned around and faced her.

"You know that we sent the hundred down to the ground." He told her. "What you don't know is why."

"The Ark is dying, Cami." Gobber told her. She looked at the two men in shock. "Life support is on its last legs."

"I have 10 days to prove that Earth is survivable or they're gonna start reducing population." Stoick told her. "320 innocent people will be killed."

"I don't get it." Camicazi said. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I looked up your file." Gobber told her. "You're the youngest zero-g mechanic on the Ark in 50 years."

"And you and my son are close." Stoick told her. At the sound of Hiccup's mention Camicazi looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Is he alive?" She asked.

"From his wristband: yes he is." Stoick told her. She sighed in relief.

"So what do I need to do?" She asked him. Stoick looked over at Gobber and nodded. Gobber reach over to a large sheet that was covering a large object. He pulled the sheet of to she a small drop-ship.

"You have 9 days to get this ready so someone can survive a drop." Stoick told her.

"Thor, what a piece of junk." Camicazi commented as she ran her hands over the ship. "They must have found this thing when they Salvaged MIR-3 in 2102." She then realised what her job was. "You want me to get a ready to stand up to the inferno of re-entry in 9 days?" She said sounding like it was impossible.

"Can you do it or not?" Stoick asked.

"Hell, yes, I can do it, but I'm going." Camicazi told him. Before Stoick could say anything she carried on speaking. "You're not the only one with someone you love on the ground. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it."

"All right." Stoick sighed. "You can go." Camicazi smirked.

"You got yourself a mechanic."

 **xXx**

Back at on the ground night had fallen. People were either sleeping or curled up round a fire. Heather and Atom were sitting next to each other round the fire in silence. After Heather had finally calmed down he let her out of the drop ship, but she had to stay with him at all times till her brother got back. Suddenly people started to stand up.

"They're back!" Someone called. This brought Heather out of her thoughts and quickly stood up. Over at the entrance Astrid and Ruffnut walked through the camp first with Hiccup and Tuffnut behind them carrying Fishlegs the best they could.

"Is he-" Heather asked as she ran up to them.

"He's alive." Astrid told her. Heather sighed in relief. "I need boiled water and strips of cloth for bandage." Astrid told her. Heather nodded and began to try and help get the supplies she needed. Snotlout and Dagur then entered the each carrying one end of part of the parachute. Astrid didn't bother watching them as she walked into the drop ship and began to try and help Fishlegs.

A little while later Hiccup was standing outside of the drop ship, watching the prisoners take of their wristbands for food. Its what they had all been told if they wanted to eat. Astrid exited the drop ship and walked over to Hiccup. Hiccup turned around and looked at Astrid with a worried look.

"He's stable for now," Hiccup sighed in relief, but only very slightly, "but without medicine.." Astrid began to say as she looked away from Hiccup and over to the prisoners, watching as each of them took of their wristbands. "They're taking off their wristbands for food? No way." Astrid commented. "Where did all that fish even come from?"

"Remember when we walked on ahead with Fishlegs and Snotlout and Dagur took another root?" Hiccup reminded her. Astrid sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I-I won't do it." Astrid told him. Hiccup looked at her.

"You don't have to." He said as he walked over to the fire and went to pick up one of the fishes on the stick. Suddenly a hand stopped him, Snotlout.

"Whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait." He said. Hiccup looked at him with a straight face. "What, you think you play by different rules, cuz?"

"I thought there were no rules, cuz." Hiccup told him. Snotlout didn't say anything, or move, realising Hiccup was right. Hiccup took two sticks off fish and walked over to Astrid, gladly giving her one.


	3. Earth Kills

**One year ago**

Hiccup, Fishlegs, Gobber and two females were all sitting on a couch watching an old re-run of a football match. Fishlegs and Hiccup were cheering for their team, while Gobber and the two were stood behind the couch watching.

"There we go. There we go." Fishlegs and Hiccup began to say, getting excited.

"Here comes, the momentum change." Gobber announced.

"Defence. The defence is there." One of the women said standing behind Fishlegs. She had black hair and green eyes.

"Serve it up." The other women said, standing behind Hiccup. She had long amber hair and green eyes.

"Yeah! Oh!" Hiccup and the woman behind him yelled.

"No!" Fishlegs and the other women yelled.

"Right here, son." The woman behind Hiccup said to him. Hiccup turned around and high-fives the woman. Fishlegs and the woman behind him sighed in defeat.

"They're unbeatable." The women red hair woman said pointing to the screen.

"Prepare for crushing defeat." Hiccup told Fishlegs.

"It's not over yet." Fishlegs told him.

"Actually, it was over 147 years ago." Hiccup pointed out.

"A technicality." The women behind Fishlegs said.

"Give it up." The red hair woman said to the woman behind Fishlegs. "You're going down." It was then Stoick walked into the room. He looked around the room.

"What'd I miss?" He asked. Gobber pointed to Hiccup and the woman behind him.

"Your wife and son being obnoxious." Gobber told him.

"Better play nice." Stoick told them as he placed his bag down at a desk. He then walked over to his wife and wrapped his arms round her waist. "Hey."

"Hi." She said as they shared a kiss. The woman be hide Fishlegs gave Hiccup's mother a quick tap on the arm.

"Valka, can I talk to you for a second?" Valka nodded and followed the woman across the room.

"Yes, Phlegma, what is it?" She asked.

"I ran into Sven when I was leaving the herb room and he has that systems analysis that you asked for." Valka look at her watch before nodded to Phlegma.

"Okay." She told her. She then walked over to the door. Stoick saw this.

"Everything okay?" He asked. Valka nodded.

"Oh, yeah." She told him. "You know this old boat. It's always something." And with that she left to room. Phlegma then walked back over to the couch and stood behind Fishlegs. He looked up to her.

"What was that all about?" He asked. Phlegma placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Nothing you need to worry about, son." She told him.

 **xXx**

Astrid sat beside Fishlegs, holding his wrist in one hand to check is pulse, and holding Hiccup's wrist in the other looking at his watch, his mothers watch.

"His pulse is thready." She told him. He began to moan again in pain, load.

"Go back to sleep! Quiet!" The other prisoners yelled from the bottom of the drop ship. Fishlegs, Hiccup and Astrid were at the top landing of the drop ship, away from the other prisoners.

"Don't listen to them." Hiccup told him. "You're gonna make it through this, okay? Promise."

"Can he just die already?" A male prisoner yelled. This caused Hiccup to tighten his jaw.

"I'm gonna get clean water." Hiccup told Astrid. She then placed her hand on his arm.

"No, I'll go. You keep an eye on him." She told him. Hiccup looked like he wanted to argue but nodded. Astrid then stood up and made her way down the ladder. Once on the ground floor she was greeted with some of the prisoners in the drop ship, lying down trying to sleep.

"Can we just kill him now?" A male prisoner asked in a tired voice. Astrid looked down at him before walking away. "Hey, cutie, why not just throw him some poison?" This caused Astrid to stop in her tracks. She turned her heels round and walked back over to him. She looked at him once again before kicking him in the ribs. He groaned in pain.

"Be glad I didn't break one." She told him before marching out of the drop ship to get some water.

 **xXx**

It was the next morning. Snotlout, Dagur and another prisoner, Savage were throwing knives for target practice. Snotlout threw a knife at the tree but it missed. Snotlout growled in frustration from the painful moans coming from the drop ship.

"That damn Fish-face, always messing with my head." Snotlout groaned.

"He's not gonna last much longer." Dagur told him. "Better think of a new excuse." He then threw his knife at the tree, embedding it into the trunk. "That's how it's done." Just then Atom appeared, coming through the long grass.

"Dagur people are starting to get scared and hungry," Atom told him as he walked over to him, "and that dying kid, he's not helping the morale around here."

"Morale will go up when I find them more food." Dagur told him. "We need to go hunting."

"Let's go kill something." Snotlout said as he, Dagur and Atom began to walk away from the camp, only to be stopped by Dagur.

"You're not going." He told Snotlout. He then looked at Savage. "I need you both to stay here. If the grounders are circling, we can't leave this place unprotected." Snotlout sighed.

"Fine. Somebody better tell Fish-face to keep it shut." Dagur and Atom then walked off. Snotlout took his knife and threw it at the tree again, missing again. He looked over at the drop ship and back at the tree in frustration.

 **xXx**

Astrid was cleaning and mending Fishlegs' wounds back at the drop ship. Hiccup hadn't left his side since they brought him back. Fishlegs carried on moaning in pain, more when something comes in contact with the wound.

"The grounders cauterised the wound." Astrid said as she observed the wound. "Saved his life."

"Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait." Hiccup pointed out. Astrid carried on trying to clean the wound when she realised something. Something not good.

"This is infected." Astrid said. Hiccup sighed as he placed his head in his hands. "He could be septic." The suddenly the ground door opened. Hiccup turned around to see who it was while Astrid carried on trying to clean the wound.

"How's he doing?" Tuffnut asked as he and Ruffnut climbed up the ladder.

"How does it look like he's doing?" Astrid snapped.

"Hey, just trying to help." Ruffnut said as she placed her hands in the air.

"Right." Astrid whispered. She then looked at his wound and at the cloth in her hand. She knew what she needed to do. "You want to help? Hold him down." Astrid told the twins and Hiccup. Tuffnut and Ruffnut took hold of his legs while Hiccup held his arms above his head. Astrid took a knife and placed it in the small fire next to her.

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Hiccup asked Astrid. Astrid looked at him with a serious, yet uneasy look. Hiccup sighed before looking down at Fishlegs. Astrid took the knife away from the fire and held it over his wound. She let out a sigh before placing the knife on his wound and cutting him. He let out a piecing scream.

"Hold him still." Astrid ordered as he began to move about. "I need to cut away the infected flesh." It was then he screams died down before he passed out. Astrid quickly placed her hand on his throat to check for a pulse. They then heard someone climb up the ladder. It was Heather. She ran over to them before kneeling down.

"Stop it! You're killing him." She said to Astrid.

"She's trying to save his life." Hiccup told her.

"She can't." Dagur said as he walked up the ladder. Hiccup then stood up.

"Back off." He told him.

"We didn't drag him through miles of woods just to let him die." Astrid told him.

"The kid's a goner." Dagur told her. "If you can't see that, you're deluded. He's making people crazy."

"Sorry if Fishlegs' an inconvenience to you, but this isn't the Ark." Astrid pointed out. "Down here, every life matters."

"Take a look at him." Dagur told her. Astrid did. He was sweating and growing a fever, or would be if Heather wasn't patting him with a wet cloth. "He's a lost cause." Dagur said. Astrid then looked over to Heather who was sitting by Fishlegs' head, damping the cloth on his forehead.

"Heather, I've spent my whole life watching my mother heal people." Astrid told her. "If I say there's hope, there's hope."

"This isn't about hope, it's about guts." Dagur said. "You don't have the guts to make the hard choices. I do. He's been like this for 3 days. If he's not better by tomorrow, I'll kill him myself." Dagur told them. He then made his way over to the ladder. "Heather, let's go."

"I'm staying here." Heather told him, not looking over to him. Dagur didn't argue, knowing he wouldn't win, and climbed back down the ladder.

"Power-hungry, self-serving half-troll." Hiccup swore. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself. No offence." Hiccup said as he turned to Heather. Heather shrugged.

"Yeah." Tuffnut said, "Dagur is all that. But he also happens to be right."

 **xXx**

Stoick was looking out of his window in his cabin. He the heard the sound of the door opening. He turned around to see him wife walk into the room. She walked over to her husbands desk and fell onto the chair. Stoick walked over to his wife and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Where did you go?" He asked her.

"The systems analysis I asked Sven for came back." She told him.

"And?" He asked. Valka sighed before turning to her husband.

"What I am about to tell you, you can not go and tell this to the council." Valka told him.

"Val, you know that if its something major the council will need to know." Stoick told her. Valka sighed, knowing he was right.

"The Ark's got a year of oxygen left, maybe two." Valka told him.

"You'll fix it." Stoick encouraged her. She shook her head.

"Not this time." She told him. "I've tried, Stoick. This isn't a glitch. It's a system failure. People need to know."

"No." Stoick told his wife with a serious voice. "They'll panic." Valka shook her head before standing up and walking away from Stoick a couple of steps.

"We can't avoid the truth." She told him as she turned around to face him. "We have to let everyone on the Ark put their minds to a solution."

"What, and risk anarchy?" He said. "No. It's too dangerous." He told her. Valka shook her hand as he placed his hands on her shoulders again.

"Promise me that you'll obey the council's orders, that you'll keep it quiet." She didn't answer. "Promise me."

"I can't." She told him as she pulled his arms of her shoulders with her hands.

"For Hiccup. Do it for Hiccup." He told her.

"I am doing this for Hiccup." She told him.

"They'll float you, Val." He told her. "I may be Chief but the council with vote to float you. If you do this, I won't be able to stop it."

In the other room Hiccup leaned against the wall, listening to his parents conversation. Hearing the secret that could cost all the lives of the Ark.

 **xXx**

Astrid sat down on the floor outside of the drop ship. She had one of the makeshift bandages the grounders used on Fishlegs. It was some sort of large leaf with a purple sore of substance used to keep it in place. She heard a pair of feet walking over to her. She looked up to see Hiccup's face looking down at her.

"You're mad?" He asked.

"I'm not mad." She told him. "At least not at you."

"There's a first." Hiccup said. Astrid didn't laugh or smile, and neither did Hiccup.

"They want to think Fishlegs is a lost cause, go ahead." She said as she looked back down at the leaf. "They're wrong."

"I know they are." He muttered.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" She asked him.

"Heather and Ruffnut kicked me out, literately." He told her. He then knelt down next to her.

"Whatever this stuff is, it has to have had antibiotic properties." She told him as she carried on looking at the leaf.

"Let me take a look." He said. She gave him a confusing look. "Engineering isn't my only talent." He told her. The corner of Astrid's lip turned up very slightly as she handed him the leaf. He began to observe the leaf like Astrid did.

"The grounders used it as a poultice." She explained to him. "I'm thinking a tea might be even more effective if we can figure out what it is."

"I know what it is." He told her. "Seaweed. Look, no root structure." He said as he showed her the leaf in a different way she had been looking at it.

"Then there must be a water source nearby." She pointed out.

"It would have to have a slow current, lots of rocks." He told her.

"The water would probably be more red than green." She said.

"I know where to fine some." He said.

"All right. Let's go." She said as she and Hiccup stood up.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Astrid soon came to a shallow river with rocks covering the ground around them. "So what does seaweed look like?" Astrid asked Hiccup as they stood by the edge of the water. Hiccup walked up to the edge of the river and pointed.

"Like that." He said. Astrid looked over and saw vine-line red stuff floating in the river. Astrid walked into the river, along with Hiccup and both grabbed a big handful of seaweed. As they walked back to shore they head the sound of birds crying out. They looked up to where the forest was across the river to see a big flock of birds emerge from the forest and head straight towards them. They both quickly ducked down to dodge them. They quickly disappeared in the opposite direction. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other.

"Let's get out of here." Hiccup said. Astrid nodded agreeing. Hiccup took off the backpack and opened it. They both quickly shoved the seaweed into the bag. Suddenly the sound of a horn echoed through the area.

"Grounders?" Astrid guessed.

"It could be a war cry." Hiccup said.

"Or a warning." Just at that second a giant wave of yellow-orange like smoke appeared and headed towards them. "What in Thor's name is that?!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup didn't answer but instead grabbed hold of her arm.

"Run!" He yelled.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Fishlegs sat in the game room together at a table playing chest. Hiccup however wasn't paying attention, after hearing the news from his mother.

"Hiccup." Fishlegs said to him. "You're up." Hiccup still didn't reply. Fishlegs then leaned over and tapped Hiccup on the arm. He then shook his head slightly, realising what had just happened.

"Sorry." He apologised as he moved another piece.

"Well, if your strategy is to lose really fast," Fishlegs said as he moved one of his pieces to take Hiccup's piece, "that was a great move. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Hiccup shook his head.

"I know you too well, Hiccup." Fishlegs told him. Hiccup sighed and looked around the room, making sure no one could hear them.

"My mom found a problem with the oxygen system." He told him. "I'm not supposed to know."

"They've had other malfunctions." Fishlegs told him. "They always figure out a way to deal with it." Hiccup shook his head.

"No. This one might not be fixable. The council doesn't want anyone to know." Hiccup told him.

"The council meaning your dad and my mom, along with your uncle?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup answered. "I think she's gonna go public anyway."

"Hiccup, she can't. She'll get floated." Fishlegs told him.

"I know. But what if she's right?" Hiccup asked. "Don't people deserve to know the truth? You can't tell anyone I told you." Fishlegs nodded.

"Your secret's safe with me." He told him. "I promise. And I will prove it." Hiccup gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

 **xXx**

"Astrid, run!" Hiccup yelled to Astrid who was behind him. The smoke way not far behind them, and getting close.

"Hiccup, where do we go?!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup didn't answer as even he didn't know how they could escape the smoke. But then a answer came to him when he tripped. He fell on something, something metal. He quickly moved the dirt and found it to be a door.

"Astrid, help me with this!" Hiccup yelled as he tried to open the door. Astrid, who was standing back watching, quickly ran over to him and helped him pull the door open. Once open Hiccup recognised what it was. "A automobile." He then began to push Astrid into the car, he quickly followed behind her before slamming the door shut.

 **xXx**

Back at the camp everyone began running into the drop ship. Heather and Ruffnut, who where looking after Fishlegs, heard footsteps running into the drop ship, along with the doors closing. They looked over to the ladder to see Tuffnut climbing up it.

"What's going on?" Ruffnut asked his brother.

"Air got thick, everybody's skin started burning." He explained as he rubbed his skin slightly.

"Ruffnut, my brother's out there." Heather said with panic in her voice.

"He'll be fine." Ruffnut assured her. "We'll all be fine."

 **xXx**

"It's still out there." Hiccup said as he looked out the window of the automobile.

"Look, we should just make a run for it." Astrid said. "We can't wait much longer."

"Look, I want to get to Fishlegs too but us dying in a cloud of acid fog isn't gonna help him." Hiccup told her as he began to open small compartments to see what they could find to help them. He then took out a bottle of alcohol. Astrid saw this.

"Is that-"

"Booze." He answered as he walked back over to Astrid and sat next to her. He found it difficult to open the bottle. Astrid rolled her eyes before taking to bottle from his hands and opening it without any problems. "And here I thought I was stronger than you."

"In your dreams." She told him. Hiccup let out a small laugh as he took the bottle from her hands and brought it to his lips. Astrid looked at him like he was crazy.

"Hiccup,"

"I think its Whiskey." Astrid laughed.

"I can only imagine the amount of prisoners who would kill for some of that stuff." Astrid told him.

 **xXx**

Back at the camp everyone was in the drop ship, asleep. Or trying to sleep as the painful moans from Fishlegs from the top floor was keeping them awake.

"That kid's driving me nuts." A female prisoner said as she turned onto her right side.

"Can't take this much longer." A male prisoner said with his arm over his head. Savage was laying in a hammock he made from some of the parachute.

"Right, that's it." He said as he sat up from his bed. "I'm ending this."

"I heard Dagur gave him till tomorrow." A female prisoner said who was leaning against the wall with a cover over her.

"Yeah, well, Dagur isn't here, is he?" Savage pointed out. "Fish-face is dying anyway. I'm just getting it over with." He said as he stood up. What he didn't see was Ruffnut run from her sitting spot and up the ladder.

"Savage's going to kill Fishlegs!" She yelled to Heather and her brother, who was sitting with Fishlegs. They both quickly ran over to the door the began to close it, but was stopped by Savage who was trying to keep the door open. Heather began to kick him, hoping he would let got, which he did. They were able to slam the door shut, but couldn't keep it closed.

"The lock's on the other side." Tuffnut told them as he and his sister held the door down. Heather then ran over to the wall and grabbed hold of a lose rod.

"Don't let him in!" She yelled as she tried to pull the poll of the wall.

"I'm gonna kill him, okay? Let me in! Let me in!" Savage yelled from the other side of the door as he tried to push the door open. Tuffnut and Ruffnut then sat on the door to keep it shut as Heather carried on trying to get the rode.

"Uhh! No rush." Ruffnut told Heather.

"We're fine here." Tuffnut followed. Heather with all her strength gave the poll a final pull before it came off the wall.

"I got it!" She yelled as she ran back over to the twins. "Move it!" She then moved the rod so it laid under the handle of the door and the ladder. There was no way it was going to open now.

"Both of you better open up this hatch right now!" Savage yelled.

 **xXx**

"It's been hours." Hiccup told her. "Fishlegs-"

"Is in good hands." Astrid told him. "Heather and the twins will take care of him."

"Doesn't stop me worrying." Hiccup told her. Astrid sighed and leaned her head back.

"Hey, I have a question." Astrid told him. He looked over to her. "I thought it was against the law on the Ark to have more than one child. But your father has a brother, the twins are-"

"Twins?" Hiccup finished. Astrid nodded.

"So how come neither of them were floated or put into prison for it?" Astrid asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"My father and his brother are half brothers." Hiccup explained. "My father was born first. His mother died in child birth. Then his father met another woman and then they had a child together. There was no law then saying that you couldn't re-marry and have a child with another woman."

"And the twins?" Astrid asked.

"They're twins. Its not like it was planned." Hiccup told her. "Because they were both born together my father knew that the parents had no say in what happened, there for they were aloud to have both children and not be floated." Astrid nodded, understand now.

"Can I ask you a question?" Hiccup asked. Astrid nodded. "Its about you're uncle." Astrd sighed and looked down. "I understand if you don't want to talk about him-"

"No, its okay." Astrid told him. "What is it?"

"How was he your uncle? Were your mother and him half siblings or-" He asked her. Astrid shook her head.

"They weren't related." She told him. "They were just two friends who happened to become close friends, to one point: family." Hiccup nodded. They both grew in silence again for a couple of minutes.

"Can I ask you something again?" Astrid asked. Hiccup smiled.

"Are we playing 20 questions now?" Hiccup asked. Astrid smiled and shook her head.

"Do you think me wanting to keep Fishlegs from not dying is a bad thing? Like I'm such a downer." She asked. Hiccup shook her head.

"No of course not." He told her. "But I've got to ask, why are you so sure about keeping him alive?"

"It's what my mum does best, apart from fighting of course." She told him. "I guess I just look up to her.

"I wish I felt the same with my father." He commented. Astrid looked over to him.

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Astrid asked.

"Apart from the day we got sent to the ground, that last time I saw him was when he closed my cell door." He told her. Astrid shook her head.

"I don't know how a parent could do that to their own child." Astrid commented.

"Simply. Sacificing one life can save many." He said. "We were their sacrifice."

 **xXx**

On the Ark Valka sat in her chambers recording the message that will be sent out around the Ark for the people to see.

"In this time of uncertainty, we will come together as a people." She said into the camera. "I'm telling you this because you must know the truth and because I want a future for my child and yours. Be strong."

"You're gonna disobey the council?" Valka turned around to see Hiccup and Fishlegs walk over to her. She turned of the recording turned to her son. "Mum, I know. We know." Hiccup said as he pointed to himself and Fishlegs. "I heard you and dad."

"Ok, you both know." She sighed. No one said anything. "I've been thinking about this a long time. The people have a right to know. Your father doesn't understand."

"What's the plan?" Hiccup asked.

"You don't need to know the plan." Valka told them

"You're making a video, so, what?" Hiccup asked. "You're gonna break into the communications mainframe? Making you either suicidal or incredibly dumb."

"Wow." She said. "You are picking a fine moment to start behaving like a typical teenager."

"I'm gonna help you." He told her.

"No." She said with a serious voice. "No, Hiccup, you're not."

"But I can-"

"Absolutely not." She told him as she stood up from her chair and walked over to the pair. She then placed her hands on her sons shoulders. "You get that stubborn streak from your father, you know. One of many things I love about both of you."

"Mum, we've both going to help." He told her. "You may be good with engins but your not good at hacking into computers."

"But I am." Fishlegs told her as he stepped forward. "I can break into the communications mainframe and send out the video."

"No way, Fishlegs." Valka told him. "You're mother will kill me."

"I don't care." He told her. "Its for doing the right thing." Hiccup quickly walked past his mother and took the memory card from the camera.

"Hiccup, what are you-"

"Is it just you talking on this?" He asked as he held up the card.

"Hiccup, listen to me." She said as she grabbed hold of his shoulder. "Both you and Fishlegs will get floated for this. Don't do it."

"Mom we know how to hack into the mainframe, you don't." He told her. "Its the only way to send of the message."

"Hiccup-"

"You need to get out of here." He told her. "They will float you. Dad has possibly already told the coucil and is sending guards here as we speak."

"Hiccup, its okay if that happens." She told him.

"No its not. Please." He begged. "There is an pod already on stand-by on Deck E."

"How?" She asked.

"After hearing that talk you had with dad I went and got a pod activated and ready for launch." He told her. "It will take you to earth. I would feel better knowing you have a chance to live on the ground than knowing you will die without a doubt up here."

"Hiccup, we got to go now before the guards come." Fishlegs told him. Hiccup turned to him and nodded before turning back to his mother. He looked at her with begging eyes. She sighed before placing her hand on her wrist and taking of her watch. She took Hiccup's hand and placed the watch in his palm.

"You keep it." She told him. Hiccup let out a shaky breath before hugging his mother.

"I'll warn them, I promise." He whispered to her.

"I love you." She told him.

"I love you too." He said. They soon let go of each other. Hiccup walked over to the door with Fishlegs. He looked at his mother one last time. She nodded to him. She nodded back. He then opened the door and they walked out of the room, leaving his mother alone.

 **xXx**

The door of the car opened. Hiccup popped his head up from the car and took a look around. The orange fog was clear and gone. "The fogs clear." Hiccup said as he looked down at Astrid. He climbed out of the car and helped Astrid out.

"Let's go. Fishlegs is waiting." Astrid told him. Hiccup closed the car door, and they both began to walk back to the camp. As they carried on walking threw the forest they began to hear a bunch of footsteps. They stopped and looked around. The footsteps where getting closer. Hiccup knelt down and picked up a large rock and placed himself in front of Astrid. She too also picked up a rock and got herself into a attack posision. Just as the footstep got closer Hiccup got ready to throw the rock when the group of men suddenly appeared.

It was some of the prisoner. It was Dagur. He was ready to throw a knife.

"Wow! Dagur!" Hiccup yelled. Dagur sighed, along with Hiccup.

"What are you doing out here?" Dagur asked.

"Hiding from the fog." He told him. "And you guys?"

"Hunting for food, then hiding from the fog." Dagur told him. "You guys seen Atom?" Before they could answer a loud female scream was heard. The group of them looked at each other before running towards the scream.

They soon saw a young girl, possible 14, standing on the edge of a small hill looking down. Astrid got to her first and knelt down to look at her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked in a smoothing voice. The girl didn't answer but instead pointed to in front of her. Astrid looked over to see Atom lying on the floor, his skin all read with lumps in his arms and face.

Everyone else soon made it to where Astrid was and saw the sight.

"Son of a half troll." Dagur whispeared. "Atom?" He called as he, Hiccup and the other men ran down the hill to the male prisoner. Astrid stayed with the young girl, now turning her away so she wasn't facing the scene.

Hiccup and Dagur knelt down next to him. His eyes no longer looked normale but instead like he was now blind. He was breathing shallow. He then began to say something, but it was coming out like whispears. They couldn't understand him antill the third try.

"Kill me." He kept on repeating it over and over, begging for them to end his life.

"Go back to camp." Dagur ordered. The men with Dagur obayed and left the scene. Astrid however stayed with the young girl.

"Astrid you too." Hiccup said as he looked over to her. Astrid whispeared something to the young girl before walking over to Hiccup.

"No, you go." She told him. "I'll see what I can do." Hiccup looked at Atom and Dagur on last time before nodding to her and walking over to the young girl. He took her hand and lead her away from the scene.

Astrid knelt down next to Atom and began to observe his inguries, seeing how serious they were. She looked over at Dagur and shook her head. Dagur nodded his head, understanding her and looked down. Astrid looked away from his and took a deap breath. She then looked down at Atom and placed her hand on his head.

"I'm going to help you, okay?" She told him. He didn't respond, only kept on trying to get air into his lungs. Astrid then took the knife Dagur held in his hand and held it in her own. She then slowly turned Atom's head away from her and placed the knife at his neck before pushing it into the side of his neck. He breathing became even slower, before he no longer too air into his body and closed his eyes.

 **xXx**

Dagur and Astrid soon arrived back at the camp. Hiccup walked over to her to see her and Dagur carrying a body back to the camp. "Atom?" He asked. She didn't answer his question.

"We've gotta get to Fishlegs." She told him as she walked over to the drop ship with Hiccup. "I'll need boiled water to make the medicine." Hiccup nodded and quickly walked off to get the water. Heather then walked over to her, out of the drop ship.

"It's about time." She told her. "They're gonna kill Fishlegs. Did you get the medicine?" Astrid nodded.

"Yeah. I got it." She told her. Heather sighed in relief. Astrid then placed her hand on Heathers arm. "Come on. Let's go talk." But Heather didn't want to talk when she saw her brother, and instead push Astrid to the side and walked over to him. It was then she saw a body covered up.

"Heather, just stay there." Dagur told her, however she wasn't have it and tried to push past him. "Please, stay back."

"Stop." She told him as she got past him and knelt down next to the body. She took the coat away from the persons face and he was revlieled. "Atom." Her breather became shaky slight at the sight of him.

"There's nothing I could do." Dagur told her.

"Don't." She said as she held her hand up to him. She placed the jacket back over his face and stood up while whiping her nose.

"Heather, Heather, please." He begged but she just walked past him.

"Don't." She said one last time. Savage then walked over to him.

"Loose anyone here?" He asked.

"No." He answered.

"Fishlegs?"

"Still breathing. Barely. I tried to take him out, but your psycho little sister-" Savage was then suddenly punched and grabbed hold of by Dagur.

"My what?! My What?!" He yelled in Savage's face.

"Your little sister." He answered

"Yeah, that's right." Dagur told him. "My little sister. Got anything else you want to say about her?"

"Nothing." Savage answered. "Sorry." Dagur then let go of him and looked down at Atom.

"Get him out of here." He said to the group, not caring who it is that buries him. Savage looked down at the knife in his hands. With all his anger he threw the knife at the tree. The blade embedded itself in the trunk.

 **xXx**

"We're nearly through the firewall." Fishlegs said as he typed in the keyboard as he looked at the screen. Hiccup stood behind him, his right hand on the back of Fishlegs' chair while the other rested on top of the table. They were both sat in a small tech room that only high-level people could access, they were not one of those people.

"And then once through the firewall you can access into the communication mainframe." Hiccup said as he also looked at the computer.

"And then we can send of you mothers message through the Ark." Fishlegs said. Hiccup sighed.

"I hope this works." Hiccup told him. Fishlegs didn't say anything as he carried on typing into the computer.

"We're in." Fishlegs said. Hiccup smiled as he patted Fishlegs' shoulder.

"Good, job." Hiccup told him. "Now, get into that communication mainframe."

"All ready ahead of you." Fishlegs told him. "Just need to put in the video and then we send it off." Hiccup placed his left hand in his trouser pocket and took out the small memory card that had his mothers message on. He took one look at it before passing it to Fishlegs.

Suddenly the door behind then slammed open. Hiccup and Fishlegs turned around to see 4 guard walk into the room.

"Hiccup Haddock, Fishlegs Ingerman, you are both under arrest for treason." One of the guards said as they took hold of the two teens and placed cuffs on their wrist. Hiccup and Fishlegs tried to fight them off but they were out numbered. They were quickly dragged out of the room and down a hallway towards the Skybox prison.

"Hold it." They were both suddenly stopped as Stoick, Gobber and Phlegma appeared behind them. The three adults walked up to them. Phlegma hugged her son while Stoick stood in front of his with a confused, yet angry, face.

"What were you think, Hiccup?" Stoick asked his son.

"I was think about the good of the Ark and the people on it." Hiccup told him. Stoick shook his head.

"Where's your mother?"

"Why? So you can float her?" Hiccup asked.

"This isn't my choice-" Stoick began to say but was cut off.

"Of cource there's a choice!" Hiccup yelled. "Did your coucil vote? Did you vote to tell the Ark?" Hiccup asked. Stoick stayed silent. "Of cource. You would vote to have mum floated."

"Hiccup, if she, or you, send that message across the Arc we would have a panic!" Stoick yelled. "As their chief I can not allow that to happen!"

"As their chief its your duty to be honest and give them hope!" Hiccup yelled.

"Hope isn't going to work, Hiccup!" Stoick told him.

"And what, lying to everyone, keeping this a secret from them, will?" Hiccup asked. Before Stoick could reply a voice cut him off.

"Stoick!" Everyone looked behind Stoick to see Sven running over to him.

"What is it, Sven?" Stoick asked, not having the time to deal with what ever it was.

"An escape pod was activated. Its about to be launched." Stoick looked at him with wide eyes. Before anything could be said Sven placed his hand on his ear. "Its your wife."

Everyone, including Hiccup and Fishlegs with the guards behind them, ran to a tech room. Stoick walked over to one of the tech members. "Is she speaking?"

"She is yes." He answered.

"Get me a microphone and place her on all speakers in this room." Stoick ordered. The man nodded and quickly went to get a microphone. Gobber walked over to one of the touch-screen tables and began to put the sound on.

"We're on." He said.

"Val?! Val?!" He yelled. "Can you hear me?!" The sound was cutting out around them.

"I'm here." She answered. Her voice could barley be heard due to the crackling sound, but she was there.

"What were you thinking?" Stoick asked.

"I was doing what was right." She answered.

"Mum?!" He yelled through the room. "Where are you heading?"

"I don't know." She answered. He voice started to break out more.

"Val, what's going on?" He asked.

"It's not slowing down!" She yelled. Hiccup began to panic. "The parachute hasn't deployed!"

"Mum?!" Val?!" Hiccup and Stoick yelled.

"I'm not going to make it!" The voice cracked out more.

"Mum, please!" Hiccup begged, now having tears in his eyes.

"I love-" Suddenly the sound of crashing was heard and the crackling sound took over.

"Mum?!" Hiccup yelled, waiting for an answer. There wasn't one. "Mum?!"

"Sir, we've lost signal of the pod. It seems to of disappeared." A man said. Stoick shook his head.

"I didn't disappear. Its gone." He answered. Hiccup suddenly broke down into tears and began shake. Gobber tool hold of the broken boy and held him in his arms.

"I'm so sorry." He cried. Gobber shook his head.

"It's not your fault." Hiccup then turned his head to his father. He hadn't spilled one tear. Hiccup quickly went to attack his father, only to be stopped by the guards.

"You did this!" He screamed. "Its all your fault!"

 **xXx**

Inside the drop ship Astrid and Hiccup were mixing the medicine for Fishlegs. Astrid took a cup and placed it inside the bowl the medicine was in. She then took it and placed the cup at Fishlegs' lips. Heather, who was sitting behind Fishlegs, held his head up slightly so the medicine would go down his throat. After the cup was half empty Astrid took the cup away from his lips and set it down. She then looked at Heather, who was looking down at Fishlegs.

"I'm really sorry about Atom." Astrid told her. Heather looked up at her.

"I guess we're gonna have to get used to people dying down here, aren't we?" Heather told her. She then looked down at Fishlegs. "But not you. You hear me? You're not allowed to die."

Hiccup, Heather, Ruffnut and Tuffnut all sat in the drop ship near Fishlegs drinking the alcohol Hiccup and Astrid brought back. Tuffnut took a mouthful of it.

"Smooth." He commented as he passed it to his sister. She then took a mouthful.

"Disgusting." She said looking at it. "Love it." She then passed it to Heather. Heather took the bottle and placed it to her lips taking a mouthful.

"Yuck!" She said with a grime look on her face. She then passed it to Hiccup. Before the bottle could pass his lips and voice stopped him.

"Can I, uh, get a hit of that?" Everyone looked over to see Fishlegs with his face lifted up slightly looking at the group. Everyone quickly ran over to him.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup said as he stood next to his best friend. He then took a cup that had water in it and placed it at Fishlegs' lips. "Let's start with the soft stuff." Fishlegs gladly took the water into his mouth as he took a couple of mouthfuls. Hiccup then took the cup away from his lips and placed it down. "Welcome back, buddy."

"Was that a dream or did I get speared?" Fishlegs asked.

"You'll have a very impressive scar to prove it." Fishlegs looked to his left to see Astrid walk over to him from the ladder.

"My saviour." Fishlegs joked. Astrid laughed slightly.

"Thank you for not dying." Astrid told him. "I don't think I could've taken that today."

"I'll try not to die tomorrow, too, if that's cool." Fishlegs told her. Everyone laughed. Heather then placed her hand on his leg. Fishlegs looked over to see her and smiled. "Oh, hello." He said in a high voice. She laughed. Fishlegs smiled before slowly falling back to sleep with everyone by his sighed.


	4. The Old Pod

After three long, hard-working day, a wall was finally constructed around the camp. Using wood, metal, sticks and other materials and items, the teenage prisoners had worked together to keep their territory safe. Safe from those who wish them harm.

Right now Hiccup and Fishlegs were in the drop ship, trying to find a way to get in contact with the Ark. Fishlegs was luckily healing nicely. He was now able to sit up and walk around but was under strict instructions to take it easy. Heather walked into the drop ship, along with Astrid. They walked over to the pair.

"How's it coming?" Heather asked.

"It's coming, but we're gonna need a wristband." Fishlegs told them.

"Well what about all the once that have already come of the others?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs shook his head.

"They'll be dead by now." He told them. Heather then looked down at her wristband.

"What about mine?" She asked. Fishlegs gave her a confusing look.

"You sure?" He asked. "You're brother won't be happy about you helping us trying to get in contact with the Ark."

"I'm sure." She told him. Fishlegs nodded. He took hold of some metal engineering tools and placed them on the wristband. He began to undo some screws in the wristband. He then placed one of the tools under the band and began to pull down. Heather began to moan and wimp in pain as the wristband came of her hand.

"Son of a-" She swore as the band came of her wrist. Fishlegs looked down at the band, his eyes brightened.

"I did it." He whispered. He looked over to Hiccup. "It's still operational." Fishlegs then slowly stood up, with Hiccup's help, and they both walked over to the wall to get the transmission started. Heather walked over to Astrid, who had a uneasy look on her face.

"What?" Heather asked. "Fishlegs needed a working wristband."

"And you going against your brother is smart?" Astrid pointed out.

"The Ark thinking I'm dead is only temporary, not like they care anyway." Heather told her.

"Not if I can't patch it through the drop ship mainframe." Fishlegs said from behind them as he began wiring. He then turned around to look at them. "I can do it. We'll be talking to the Ark by nightfall."

Hiccup then walked over to them. "Knowing his talents, we will most likely be talking to the Ark, before nightfall."

"Don't push it." Astrid told him as the three of them walked out of the drop ship and onto the camp sight. Everyone was doing their own thing to help around the sight. Some were building weapons, others were off collecting food and water, some were building tents, all working together.

"Tuffnut and I, along with some others are going to head out, see if we can get any more food." Hiccup told them was they walked over to the weapon area, where some prisoners were making weapons.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Astrid asked. "I mean, what if the grounder-"

"If the grounders attack then we will fight them if we can." Hiccup told her.

"No offence Hiccup, but I don't think you or any of us can go against them." Heather told him. Hiccup shrugged.

"We're gonna have to try." Hiccup told her. "For all we know they might declare war on us."

"Now that they know we're hear it most likely they could end up attacking the camp." Astrid said.

"And we can't do that if we are starving." Hiccup said as he picked up a knife and placed it in the trousers. "I'll be back soon." He then walked of to look for Tuffnut and anyone else who would help them hunt.

Dagur and Snotlout were standing on the side lines watching everyone work. "This section should be finished by tomorrow." Snotlout told Dagur. They both then looked over to see two teen men carrying a large log, that look really heavy. The man carrying the log from behind suddenly dropped it and fell to his knees. Snotlout saw this.

"Hey!" He called as he walked over to the man. "You think the grounders are just gonna sit around and wait for us to finish the wall?" Snotlout asked as he stopped next to the guy, looking down at him. Astrid, who was now making a spear, saw what was going on and began walking over to them. "Maybe we should let the little girl do the lifting for you, huh?" He asked as he pointed to a young girl, the same girl as yesterday, weaving some logs together for a tent.

"I just need some water, okay? Then I'll be fine." The man said.

"Yeah, Snotlout." Astrid said as she stopped in front of Snotlout. "Why don't you get him some water?"

"And why should I do that?" He asked while laughing slightly.

"Maybe because I asked you kindly." She pointed out.

"I don't have to do anything you ask." He told her.

"Snotlout, get this guy some water." Dagur told him. Snotlout rolled his eyes before walking off to get the guy some water, knowing not to mess with him. Astrid then turned to the young girl.

"Hey," She said as she patted the young girls arm, "you got this?" She asked pointing to the log. Believing Astrid was being serious the young girl went to pick up the log, only to be stopped by Astrid kneeling down next to her laughing slightly. "I'm just kidding." The girl smiled at her back, slightly embarrassed for falling for it. Astrid then placed her hands under the log before lifting it onto her shoulder and moving it with the other guy.

 **xXx**

Hiccup, Tuffnut and some other men were walking through the woods looking for for their lunch and dinner.

"So are we heading to the river or are we looking for birds...?" Tuffnut asked as he and Hiccup walked through the forest with the other men walking ahead of them.

"Just anything we can catch, Tuff." Hiccup told him.

"Right, and how are we looking to do that?" Tuffnut asked. "We don't have anymore bullets for that gun Dagur has, all we have is knives."

"Then we better hope everyone is good a knife throwing." Hiccup said.

"I know a couple of people who are good at knife throwing." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, like who?" Hiccup asked.

"Astrid." Tuffnut told him. Hiccup didn't say anything and carried on walking. "You like her don't you?"

"What?" Hiccup said as he turned his head to Tuffnut.

"You like Astrid, don't you?" Hiccup nodded.

"Well yeah, of course I do. She's a nice person." He told Tuffnut.

"No, you like her." Tuffnut corrected him. Hiccup began to go red slightly. "Oh, come on, bro. Just tell her."

"And lose another limb, I don't think so." Hiccup told him.

"Come on, she would only do that if you flirt with her." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, and telling her you have feeling for her isn't flirting." Hiccup said like he was dumb. "Besides, there are loads of other guys here and up there way better than me for her." Before anything else could be said the two other male prisoners came running over to them. They were out of breath. "What happened?"

"We were chasing a animal through the woods-" the blond hair prisoner began to say.

"It was massive, and it had wings, like giant!" The brown hair prisoner said.

"It was not a bird, we have no idea what it was!" The blond hair prisoner said.

"Okay, okay," Hiccup said to them. "Just tell us what happened.

"When we were following it we came across this ship thing." The brown hair prisoner said. Tuffnut's eyes widened.

"Another Ark member came her last night?" Tuffnut asked. They shook their head.

"No, this one must of been her for at least a year, its got vines on it and is really dirty." The blond hair prisoner said. Hiccup began to think of when the Ark would of launched another drop ship a year ago. His father had never mentioned anything about Earth being safe for people to come down on. Why would someone- wait.

"Where was it?" Hiccup asked with a slight panicked voice. The two male prisoners began to lead the way to where the old drop pod was. They soon arrived to a sort of clearing, though there were still trees close around them. Hiccup slowly made his way over to the drop pod and began to observe it. There were a couple of vines over the top of it going down the side. There was dirt and mud covering it. You could tell it was old. The window at the front was smashed like someone had fallen through the glass.

Hiccup head over to the side of the drop ship and began to try and open the door, which was pretty hard because of how stiff it was. He was finally able to open it. There were leafs covering the seat were someone would sit, along with the control panels. He then walked over to the seat and lifted the seat itself up. Inside there was a note. He knew who was in the pod.

"Mum."

 **xXx**

Stoick walked through the busy hallways of the Ark. He was on his was to Camicazi, to check on the pod she was working on that would take her to Earth. As he carried on his walk he saw Spitelout walking towards him. Their eyes locked.

"Chief." Spitelout said.

"Spitelout." Stoick said as he carried on his walk, however Spitelout didn't.

"Are you headed to Mecha Station?" Spitelout asked. Stoick stopped and turned around. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.

"You've been down there 8 times this past week. Is there something I should be made aware of?" Spitelout asked.

"Are you question me?" Stoick asked him.

"Not at all, but as a member of the council I feel like it's my duty-" Spitelout began to say but was cut of.

"As a member of the council it is your duty to not question me and where I go." Stoick told him. Spitelout nodded.

"Of course." Spitelout said before walking off back in his normal direction. Stoick looked at him one more time before walking off himself.

 **xXx**

Up in the Mecha Station Camicazi was busy working away on the escape pod. Stoick then quickly walked into the room.

"How soon can you get this thing ready to drop?" He asked as he walked into the room and over to Camicazi.

"I'm still scraping up parts to fabricate a pressure regulator." She told him. "We got two more days, right?"

"Can we launch without that part?" Stoick asked her.

"We could launch, but we'll be dead before we get to the ground." She told him. "And I mean bad dead. Ruptured lungs, air bubbles in the brain. We need that part." Stoick sighed while rubbing his forehead. "Why? What's wrong? Did something change?"

"I have a feeling the council is going to be finding out." Stoick told her.

"So?" She said as her body moved out of the pod. "You're the chief. You can do what ever you want."

"Not if the council out votes me." He told her. "I need you on Earth today." Camicazi sighed.

"Okay, but I need that pressure regulator." She told him.

"I'll talk to Gobber, he should know what to do." He told her.

 **xXx**

Hiccup was sitting on the ground, leaning against the ship, when Astrid came walking into the clearing. "Hey." She called over. Hiccup looked up from the letter in his hands. He didn't reply and looked back down at the letter. "What are you doing out here alone? There could be grounders everywhere."

"I'm not afraid of them." He told her. Astrid smiled as she walked over to him.

"Yeah well, we should be." She told him. She then sat down next to him, looking at the letter in her hands. "What's that?"

"It a letter." He told her. "From me to my mom."

"Where did you get that from?" She asked.

"The ship behind us." He said.

"But why would your letter be-" She cut herself of, realising what this all meant. Her mouth formed an 'O' shape before going quiet.

"Ever since I was little, on my and mom's birthday we would always leave letters on each others chairs, sometimes I would place the letter under the seat to annoy her when I tell her its on the chair." He told her laughing at the memory. "When I told her I got a drop ship ready for her she would know to check the seat for a letter, that why I checked it. To see if she would of left a letter for me."

"And she didn't." Astrid said. Hiccup shook his head. "Just because she didn't leave you a letter doesn't mean she's dead."

"There's a hole in the front of the ship." He told her. "Its obvious that she went through it when landing."

"That doesn't mean anything, Hiccup." Astrid told him.

"Astrid, she wouldn't do this. She would of left something to show she was still alive. Plus, the grounders." Astrid didn't say anything, knowing he was right. Hiccup's breath began to become shaky slightly. Astrid took Hiccup's hand into her own and leaned her head on his shoulder. Hiccup did the same, just leaned his head on her head.

 **xXx**

Stoick walked back into the Mecha Station and walked over to Camicazi. He then handed her the pressure regulator. Camicazi looked at it with wide eyes.

"How did you-" She began to ask but was cut off by Stoick.

"Don't as me." He told her. "Gobber is the one that can work magic like that, though I wish I knew how. How fast can you install it?"

"I don't know." She answered. "A few hours, maybe." Stoick nodded.

"Better get to work then." He told her.

"Yes sir. I'm on it." She told him before getting to work on the drop pod.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Astrid walking through the forest together, on their way back to the camp site. As they carried on walking past tree's and bushes Hiccup felt something hard against his foot. Hiccup stopped and looked down. Astrid, who was now walking in front of him, saw that he had stopped and looked over to him.

"Hiccup?" She said. He didn't answer and knelt down to the ground. He moved the dirt and branches to find a metal door, just like the one on the drop ship. Astrid walked over to him and also saw the door. "Its just that automobile." She told him. Hiccup shook his head.

"No, its not. Look at the door." He said. "It's just like the one on the drop ship." Astrid looked at the door more carefully and saw that he was right. Hiccup then placed his hand on the handle and lifted the door up. They both looked down the hole. There was a ladder leading down. Hiccup climbed onto the ladder.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Fishlegs won't be finished just yet." He told her as he began to climb down. "Lets check this place out." Astrid sighed before climbing onto the ladder and climbing down with him, not before closing the door above her. Once at the bottom they both turned on the flashlights they both carried.

Looking around the room they were in there was a bunker bed, a table and chairs with pens, pencils and other art equipment, shelves of food, candles, a settee, a sink with bottles next to it and so much more.

"What is this place?" Astrid said as she looked around. Hiccup shook his head.

"I'm not sure." He said. "Maybe a escape house or something." He said. Astrid then walked over to the shelves were the candles were and placed them on the table. Hiccup took some matches he found and began to help Astrid light them. Soon the whole room was a orange like colour from the light. Astrid began to have another look around while Hiccup sat on the settee. He let out a sigh.

"Hey Hiccup." Astrid said. Hiccup opened his closed eyes and looked over to her. "You like to draw, right?"

"Yeah." Hiccup told her, not sure were she was going with this. Astrid then walked over to him with a small jar in her hand. She sat down next to him and handed him the jar. He took it into his hands and began to observe it. It had pens in. He undone the lid and pulled some of the pens out. He smiled. He then placed the pens on the table. "Did you find anything else?" Astrid showed his a photograph on a small family.

"Looks like they never made it here." Astrid said.

"No." Hiccup said as he looked away from the photo. "I figure the bombs took them by surprise."

"Most likely." Astrid said. Hiccup sighed and looked around the room.

"All this preparation. What a waste." Astrid shook her head.

"I don't know. Maybe they were lucky." She told him. "They couldn't have lived more than a few years down here, then when they ran out of food or lost their minds, they would've opened the doors and been dead within a few days. Back then, maybe sooner."

 **xXx**

"Thank you all for meeting here with me on short notice." Stoick said to the council. They all sat around the table in the council meeting room, though they do not know what for.

"Are we going to another vote, Stoick?" Spitelout asked. Stoick shook his head.

"No." He told him. "I am here to tell you all the new plan."

"What new plan?" Ingrid asked.

"We believe that the 100 are all dying and that earth is not survivable." Stoick told him.

"However some of us do believe that the prisoners are taking of their wristbands." Gobber quickly said.

"But we have no way of know that." Spitelout said.

"I know. Which is why a volunteer has offered to go down to Earth today." Stoick told them. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes.

"Who?" Phlegma asked.

"Camicazi Cowlock." He told them.

"Why was this not discussed sooner?" Spitelout asked.

"Because the drop pod was needing some repairs." Gobber explained. "Once repaired we will be able to launch, which is today."

"Okay then," Mulch said, "A vote in favour is to vote to send Camicazi Cowlock to earth to see if the 100 are still alive and Earth is survivable. All though in favour?"

"Aye." Stoick, Gobber, Ingrid, Phlegma, Bucket and Mulch all said together raising their right arm. Spitelout shook his head.

"I will let Camicazi know now." Stoick told them as he stood up from his chair and walked out of the room.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Astrid walked back into the camp, night had fallen upon them. Tuffnut saw the two and walked over to them.

"Hey there, love birds." Tuffnut greeted. Astrid raised her eyebrows at him and lifted her hand up slightly, showing a fist. "I'm just talking about two birds I saw that were in love."

"That's what I thought." She said as she walked past him. Tuffnut sighed as he walked over to Hiccup.

"So, any kissing?" He asked him. Hiccup shook his head.

"That's not going to happen, Tuff." Hiccup told him. Tuffnut smirked.

"We'll just see about that." Tuffnut said.

"Hey!" Hiccup and Tuffnut turned around to see Dagur walking over to them. "Where have you and Astrid been all day?"

"Walking around, trying to find some stuff." Hiccup told him.

"Well next time, don't leave without letting someone know." Dagur told him. "Savage has wondered of somewhere and he still hasn't come back."

"He's properly on his way back." Hiccup said to him. Dagur sighed.

"And did you find anything use full?" Dagur asked him. Hiccup thought about telling him about the escape house but decided to keep it between him and Astrid. Hiccup shook his head.

"No. We didn't find anything." Hiccup told him. Dagur gave him a confusing look.

"We?" Dagur asked.

"Astrid and I." Hiccup said. Dagur gave him a suspicious look.

"You two have been hanging around each other quite a lot recently." Dagur pointed out. "Anything I should know?" Hiccup shook his head.

"No, nothing." Hiccup told him. Dagur looked at him once more before walking of. Tuffnut then turned to Hiccup.

"You sure about that?" Hiccup was about to say something back when Ruffnut came running over to them.

"Hey! Guys!" She yelled as she ran over.

"Wow! Sis. Catch your breath." Tuffnut told his sister. She shook her head.

"No time! He did it!" Ruffnut told them. "Fishlegs got through!" The three of them looked at each other before running into the drop ship.

 **xXx**

"You ready, Camicazi?" Stoick asked from one of the control rooms.

"Yes sir." Camicazi answered through the radio she held in her hands from the drop pod.

"Good luck, kido." Gobber said into the radio. Camicazi smiled through her space suit.

"Thanks, Gobber." She said.

"Hey, Camicazi." Stoick quickly said.

"Yes?"

"If you see you son can you tell him, though I'm sure he won't want to hear it, that I'm sorry." Camicazi sighed.

"Yes, sir." Stoick nodded.

"Okay. Here we go." Gobber said as he push a couple of buttons. Suddenly smoke filled the room Camicazi was in and the drop pod detached from the Ark and fell into space.

 **xXx**

Inside the drop ship Fishlegs was slightly wiring the wristband, getting it ready to use. Heather, Ruffnut, Tuffnut were standing close to him while Astrid stood behind them and Hiccup stood next to the door of the drop ship, rubbing his hands together slightly as they waited anxiously.

"Will we be able to talk to them?" Astrid asked.

"No." Fishlegs answered. "More like Morse code." Fishlegs then took a red wire and held it over the wristband. He looked at everyone. "Here we go." He said. He then slowly began to lower the wire down onto the wristband. Everyone watch nervously. Then as the wire came in contact with the wristband it made a lout zap noise.

Then Hiccup, Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and everyone else who was still wearing their wristband looked down at it, feeling a zap run through their arm.

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark in the Tech room with all of the prisoners pictures and life signs, Gobber was on the computer when suddenly it became blurry and he lost connection. "What the-" He began to say but suddenly the alarm went of meaning another prisoner had just died. Gobber looked up to see which one had died. His eyes widened at the sight.

All of them were dead.

 **xXx**

"What happened?" Heather asked Fishlegs. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were checking each others wristbands behind them. Hiccup was waiting for an answer. Astrid looked at Fishlegs with confusion.

"It didn't work." He answered. He then turned to Heather. "I think we fried all the wristbands." Hiccup couldn't believe what he was hearing and stormed out of the drop ship. Astrid looked over at Heather and everyone before running after him.

Hiccup ran back to the escape house under ground. He had to get away from everyone and let out his anger. He took hold of the table the flipped it over. Astrid, who had just came down the ladder quickly walked over to him and grabbed his arms.

"Hiccup! Hiccup, stop it! Calm down!" She shouted to him.

"We're dead to them!" He screamed to her, using his arms to pull her of him. "Don't you get that?!"

"No, there's still hope." She told him.

"Even you don't believe that. It's over, Astrid. They're gonna die up there, and we're alone." Astrid lost it.

"We're not alone!" She yelled to him, now having tears in her eyes. She then pointed to him. "You're not alone." She then grabbed hold of his face in her hands. "You're not alone."

Hiccup looked down at her into her eyes. He then did something he was expecting a punch for. He leaned forward and pushed his lips against hers. She began to kiss him back as she wrapped her arms round his neck. He then began to take of his jacket, she began to do the same. He then took hold of the bottom of her shirt and lifted it above her head. She then helped him take of his shirt.

He moved forward leading them to the bed. He pushed her down onto it, carrying on kissing her. She wrapped her arms round his back as they bother began to run out of air. They stopped kissing and looked at each other for a minute. Astrid then moved her hands to the back of his head and began to kiss him again.


	5. Twilight's Last Gleaming

Hiccup and Astrid laid together on the mattress on the floor, both covered in sweat from head to toe. The sheets covered their bodies while their clothes were scattered across the safe house floor. Candles were lit all around the room, giving it a glow. Hiccup laid asleep on his back while Astrid leaned her head on her left arm away, watching over him. Hiccup began to stir slightly as he woke up. His forest eyes opened to see Astrid's ocean eyes gazing down at him.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi." She whispered. She took his left hand with her right to look at the watch. She saw the time. "It's almost dawn. We should probably get going." She told him. "Can't just lie around in bed all day."

"Or we could just lie around in bed all day." He told her with a smile as he lifted his right arm up to stroke her hair. Astrid smiled.

"Hiccup, you know that last night wasn't just about needing someone." She told him. "I needed you. I wanted it to be you. You understand that, right?"

"Sure." He told her. "And I should probably tell you that last night, for me, wasn't really about you." Her smile faded. "I just wanted to have my first Earth sex." Astrid laughed. "You were around. Passably cute." Astrid continued to giggle as she moved to sit on top of him.

"You idiot." She told him as she began to kiss him.

 **xXx**

Stoick walked into the Tech room, breathing heavily. He could see everyone around them was different, almost out of breath. His eyes met with Gobber and walked over to him.

"Have we heard from Camicazi?" Stoick asked him. Gobber shook his head.

"No not yet." He told him.

"Environmental numbers?" Stoick asked.

"As of this morning. Oxygen is down 16%." Gobber told him. "Co2 and methane are heading to red levels."

"Our projections said that we wouldn't be critical for another 3 months." Stoick said.

"Valka's projections were wrong." Gobber said. Stoick sighed.

"Medical is overwhelmed." Gobber and Stoick turned around to see Ingrid walking over to him.

"What's happening?" Stoick asked.

"Dizziness, fatigue, vision problems." Ingrid explained as she stopped in front of them. "It's pulmonary toxicity."

"Then what do we do?" Gobber asked. Ingrid shook her head not sure. Stoick sighed.

"Spitelout's population reduction plan." Stoick said. Gobber and Ingrid looked at him with a shocked face.

"You can't be serious, Stoick." Ingrid told him.

"We need that air." Stoick told her. "We start in 12 hours." Stoick then began to make his way out of the room.

"How many?" Gobber asked. Stoick stopped and turned around.

"320 will be excised from the grid."

"No, murdered." Ingrid pointed out.

"We need to wait for Camicazi to report back." Gobber told him. Stoick turned around.

"There's no time. Every hour that passes, we put more people in danger." Stoick said.

"She risked her life for those people." Ingrid told him. "And your making look like it was worth nothing."

 **xXx**

Camicazi sat in the escape pod nervously as she carried on drifting in space near the earth. "Ok. RCS valve open. RCS thrust pressure: good." She told herself as she pressed some buttons. "Attitude: good. Heat shield: good." Her eyes then landed on a leaver. She placed her hand around the handle and closed her eyes. "Don't blow up." She begged

She pulled the leaver down and the entire pod began to violently shake. She began to wimpier in fear as the alarms went of. She looked through the window in front of her to see fire rising. The shield was doing its job. "Come on!"

 **xXx**

Astrid and Hiccup sat outside of the safe house looking up at the night sky, waiting for the sun to rise. They both had a blanket over them. "It's so quiet." Astrid commented. Hiccup looked down at her and noticed something different about her.

"Hey, where'd you get that shirt?" He asked seeing she was wearing a now red shirt, replacing her blue one.

"Oh. Well, there were more than just art supplies in the bunker." Astrid told him. He let out a smile. "We should share."

"If we brought the stuff back, then they'd know that we found someplace and where would we go next time we need a time to ourselves?" Hiccup pointed out. Astrid nodded.

"Yeah." Astrid whispered as she looked back at the sky. Hiccup carried on looking at her and slowly leaned towards her, his hot breath now on her neck.

"I wanted it to be you, too." Astrid smiled and looked over to him. They slowly began to kiss again. Hiccup moved his lips of her and onto the side of her neck. As Astrid slowly moved her neck she looked up at the sky, seeing a fire fly across it.

"Hiccup." She said as she patted his leg. Hiccup stopped kissing her and looked up. "Look."

"A shooting star." He said. "You should make a wish." Astrid laughed.

"Why?" She asked as she looked at him.

"It's a thing people used to do a long time ago." Hiccup told her. "I read about it."

"But it's just a rock burning up in the atmosphere." Astrid pointed out. "Why would that make your wish come true?"

"All right romance killer." Astrid laughed and gave him a little punch on the arm. She then turned her head back to the sky, watching the shooting star. Astrid's eyes then frowned as she watched the star grow bigger.

"Wait, that's not a shooting star." She said.

 **xXx**

Dagur laid asleep in his tent with two girls sleeping next to him. He was then suddenly awoken by a loud boom and his sister calling him.

"Dagur! Get out here!" Dagur quickly got out of his bed and walked out of the tent to see an escape pod flying across the sky with a parachute deployed.

"They're coming to help us." Fishlegs said.

"About time." Ruffnut said.

"Now we can kick some grounder ass." Snotlout said as he walked next to Dagur.

"Ha ha! Yeah!" The prisoners cheered.

"Please tell me they brought down some shampoo." A female prisoner begged.

 **xXx**

"We should stop at camp." Astrid as as she began to blow out the candles. "Get some gear. Weapons."

"They send some down?" Hiccup said to her as he began to put his jacket on. "It's too small to be a drop ship. I'm thinking cargo pod."

"No. They wouldn't arm a bunch of juvenile delinquents." Astrid told him. "It's probably nutrition packs, medical supplies. There'd be a radio."

"We can talk to the Ark." Hiccup pointed out.

"That is if the radio wasn't fried in the landing." Astrid told him as she also put her jacket on.

 **xXx**

"If it cleared the ridge, it's probably near the lake." Snotlout said as he, Dagur and two other men were talking inside a tent. Heather then came walking in.

"We should get moving." She told them. "Everyone's ready."

"No one's going anywhere." Dagur told her. "Not while it's dark. It isn't safe. We'll head out at first light. Pass the word." Dagur told the two men. They nodded before walking out of the tent. Dagur went to walk out but Heather stopped him.

"Everyone for 100 miles saw this thing come down." Heather pointed out. "What if the grounders get to it first? Dagur, we should go now."

"I said we wait until sunrise." He told her before walking out of the tent. Heather let out a frustration sigh before following him.

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark in the medical ward Ingrid was tending to a young brown haired girl, Reese. She was sitting on a table holding a eye cover to her right eye while Ingrid showed her pictures.

"Blue triangle. Orange square. Yellow triangle. Green circle. A little smooched." She told them.

"It's an oval." Her father told her as he stood next to her.

"Thanks, dad. I forget, whose eyes are they testing?" Reese asked with a playful tone. Her father laughed.

"You." He answered.

"Okay, Reese. Now the other eye." Ingrid told her. Reese then moved the eye cover from her right eye to her left.

"Nothing. It's just black." Reese answered.

"Okay." Ingrid said as she took out a small touch. "Let me know if you see anything at all." She said as she shined the light into the girls eye. The girl waited a couple of seconds.

"Are you doing it?" She asked. Ingrid sighed. "We're finished. Why don't you wait outside while I talk to your dad?" Reese nodded and jumped of the table.

"Wait with Miss Jocine." Her father told her. She began to walk of when her father quickly walked over to her. "Hey, wait." She turned to him.

"It's fine." She told him with a smile. He then began to move the hair out of the right side of her face.

"Let me get this out of your eyes. I don't know how you can see." He said as he clipped the hair back.

"I can't see. That's why we're here. Duh." She told him in a jokey way before walking off.

"Don't worry the rolling of the eyes and the attitude doesn't last for long." Ingrid told him. "10, 15 years maybe."

"It's just an act." He told her. "She's scared. It's not getting any better." He told her as he looked away from the direction his daughter walked in to Ingrid.

"The decline has been accelerating for the past few days." Ingrid told him.

"The air's never been this bad. They're gonna fix it, right? Like always?" he asked.

"I hope so." She told him, though she knew it was a lie. She then turned to walk away but he walked back over to her.

"Hey. She's a 9-year-old girl. What's she gonna do with the rest of her life blind in this place?" He asked her.

"She's strong." She told him.

"She shouldn't have to be." He said before walking off. Ingrid turned away with tears slightly forming in her eyes. Gobber walked into the medical ward and saw Ingrid.

"Hey. You all right?" He asked as he approached her.

"I just saw a little girl with optic nerve damage because of chronic oxygen deficiency." She told him. "She's going blind and I can't do anything about it, so, no, nothing about any of this is right."

"You're doing what you can." Gobber told her.

"Why aren't you monitoring the radio? Listening for Camicazi?" She asked him.

"Have you looked outside? You're slammed." He told her. "Besides, I thought you could use some help. It's also still transmitting the automatic hail."

"I'll take care of medical and you listen to that radio." She told him. "Making contact with the ground is the only way we can really help these people."

 **xXx**

On the ground, in the middle of the woods, a voice called out through the radio, though no one was answering them back.

 _"Pod one, pod one, this is Ark Station Medical. If you are receiving, please respond."_

Camicazi was in the pod, unconscious with blood dripping down from her forehead.

 _"Pod one, pod one, this is Ark Station Medical. If you are receiving, please respond. One, pod one, this is Ark Station Medical."_

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Astrid soon made it back to the camp sight. All of the prisoners were up talking to each other.

"Looks like everybody's up." Hiccup commented. Snotlout walk over to them

"Did you guys see that? You know it's from the ark, right? It had to be." He told them.

"Grab your stuff." Astrid told him. "Let's find out."

"I would but Dagur said we're gonna wait until sunrise." Snotlout told him. "I really don't like that guy."

"You're like his second best man." Hiccup told him. Snotlout then smiled.

"Oh yeah, I am." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Where is he?" She asked before walking past him and into Dagur's tent, to see a female prisoner in her underwear and another in bed.

"Ever hear of knocking, half-troll?" She asked as she covered herself up with the clothes in her hands. Hiccup then walked into the room. "Oh, great, it's a free show. Anyone else want to take a look?"

"Where the hell is Dagur?" Astrid asked.

"He took off a while ago." She told her. Hiccup then looked around the room.

"Gear's gone." He said. Astrid then turned to him.

"He told everyone to stay. Whatever's in that thing, he wants it. We've gotta get there before he does." She said before walking out of the tent, Hiccup following behind her.

"You're welcome." The prisoner said.

"This isn't your fault, Astrid." Hiccup told her as they walked through the camp to the forest.

"I should've known he'd go for that radio." She told him.

"How are you supposed to know something like that?" He asked.

"Because he's spent every single minute since we landed making sure no one on the Ark finds out we're alive." Astrid said.

"It doesn't mean you can predict what people are gonna do." He pointed out. The walked over to the weapons table and both took a small knife.

"That's exactly what I have to do." She told him as she placed the knife in the back of her trousers. "I screwed up. Let myself get distracted."

 **xXx**

Dagur ran through the forest, hoping to get to the drop pod as fast as possible.

"Dagur! What are you doing?" Heather called as she ran after him Dagur stopped and turned to him.

"Go back to camp. It isn't safe." He told her.

"You lied to everyone." She told him. "You lied to me. You just want whatever's in that pod."

"Just go home!" Dagur yelled to her.

"You always want to play the big brother, huh? Well, guess what? Joke's on me." She told him. "You're just a selfish dick."

"I did this for you, to protect you." He told her. "If the Ark finds out we're alive, they'll come down. And when they do I'm dead."

"What did you do?" Heather asked.

"I shot him. I shot Jaha." He told her.

"The guard?" Heather whispered.

"I found out they were sending you to Earth. I couldn't let you go alone. He came to me with a deal. I hold up my end and he's get me on the drop ship. I took a different end and shot him." He told her.

"You killed someone?" Heather asked in disbelief.

"He got our mother floated. He got you locked up. He deserved it." Dagur said.

"I didn't ask you to do that." She said shaking her head.

"You're right. I made the choice. This is on me." He said as he looked away from her. "Whatever they sent down, I'll take care of it."

"I didn't ask for any of this." She told him before walking back to the camp.

 **xXx**

"At 1930 hours, all hatches and vents leading to section 17 will be sealed." Spitelout explained as he stood in Stoick's chambers, explaining what was going to happen. "It will appear to be a malfunction of the fire containment system.

"So, it'll look like an accident." Stoick said as he rubbed his head.

"It's essential to maintaining public order after the culling takes place." Spitelout told him. "All residents of Section 17 will be in their sleep period. The council has already issued a writ of consent giving the chancellor permission to carry out the population reduction. A sleep-inducing gas will be introduced into the air. On your command, the oxygen supply to Section 17 will be cut off. It should be painless. Document needs your approval." Spitelout explained as he passed the small computer over to Stoick, who took hold of it and signed it.

"You have it with one alteration." Stoick told him. "You'll give the order to cut off the oxygen." He said as he stood up from his chair.

"I don't have the authority." Spitelout told him.

"In your capacity as chief." Stoick told him. Spitelout gave him an confusing look. "Tonight, I will be in Section 17 inspecting repairs to the hull, and when those doors are closed on those people, their fate will be my fate."

"Your fate." Spitelout said as he walked over to his half brother. "Don't do this."

"My mind is made up." Stoick told him as he walked over to the door. "I'm leaving you in terrible times, Spitelout, but you you have a strength that is not weakened by sentiment. And that's exactly what it's going to take for us to survive."

 **xXx**

"Pod one, pod one, this is Ark Station Medical. If you are receiving, please respond." This message carried on repeating itself inside of the pod. Camicazi was still unconscious with blood dripping down her face.

The door of the pod suddenly opened revealing Dagur. He looked at the unconscious girl, and the wound on her head through the helmet. He slowly took out his knife and began to quickly use it the cut off the radio that was attached circuits. After it was detached Dagur quickly shut the door and ran to the closest river he could find, throwing the radio into it.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Astrid were running through the forest hoping to get to the pod as fast as possible. "Should we split up?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup told her. He then pointed to his left. "You go that way. I'll check the bottom."

"Okay." Astrid said before running of in that direction.

 **xXx**

Camicazi slowly began to regain contentiousness. She groaned slightly as she slowly took of her gloves one by one. Once they were off she reached for her helmet and turned it to the left and took it off her head. Once off she took a deep breath of air. She then saw the blood on the helmet. She slowly reached up to her head, feeling the blood and the wound.

"Ahh. Crap." She said as she looked down at her hand. "That's not good." Suddenly the door was thrown open and Astrid appeared. She looked out of breath and shocked.

"Oh, my Thor." Astrid whispered.

"Hi." Camicazi greeted. She then realised something. "I made it?" Astrid nodded. She then began to help her out of the drop pod and onto the ground. She then helped her out of her suit and let her have her experience.

Camicazi took small steps as she looked up at the sky with her arms out. "Ha! Ahh." She let out a sigh. "I dreamed it would smell like this." She then felt water on her skin. "Is this rain?" Astrid looked up slightly, also feeling the water. Astrid smiled as she looked back over to Camicazi.

"Welcome home." Astrid told her. Hiccup who was in the distance saw the new comer and began to jog faster.

"Cami?!" He yelled. Camicazi stopped her gazing around and looked over to Hiccup. Her smile brightened.

"Hiccup!" She yelled as she ran over to him and gave him a hug. Hiccup placed his arms around her as well. "I knew you couldn't be dead." Hiccup then pulled away and had a good look at her.

"You're bleeding." He said.

"I don't care." She said with a smile.

"How did you get here?" He asked her. She smiled.

"You know that big scrap hold, the one on K deck?" She told him. He looked at her with wide eyes.

"You built that from scrap?" He said with a shocked voice.

"I kind of rebuilt it." She told him. "Please. Like that's hard. It just needed a couple parts and some love."

"You're insane." He told her. She laughed. She then suddenly began to lose balance and fall back slightly. Hiccup quickly tightened his grip on her and led her over to a rock.

"Come on, sit down. Sit down here." He said as she slowly sat down on the rock. He then took off his coat and placed it on her, as she was wearing a thin jacket. Astrid then walked over to them after looking through the bag.

"Here." She said as she handed Hiccup a small piece of material. "Put it on the wound."

"Thanks." Camicazi said to Astrid as Hiccup placed the material on the wound, Camicazi held it.

"This is Astrid." Hiccup told Camicazi. "She was on the drop ship, too."

"Nice to me you." Camicazi said. Astrid nodded. Camicazi then turned to Hiccup

"Hiccup, there's something you should know." She said. "This was all because of your dad."

"My dad?" He asked.

"This was all his plan." She told him.

"Why? Why would he send someone down if they didn't know if it was safe?" He asked her.

"Because the council was voting whether to kill 300 people to save air." Camicazi told them. Hiccup's eye's widened.

"When?" He asked.

"Today." She answered. She then quickly rushed past Astrid. "We have to tell them you're alive." She ran back over to the escape pod, along with Hiccup and Astrid, and looked inside. "The radio's gone." She said before exiting the pod."It must've gotten loose during re-entry. I should've strapped it to the A-strut. Stupid!" She yelled as she banged her hand on the pod.

"No, no, this isn't your fault." Hiccup told her. "Someone got here before us." he said as he looked over to Astrid, both thinking the same person.

"We have to find him." She told him.

 **xXx**

"Tell me it's not true." Gobber said as he walked into the room. Stoick was sitting at his table when Gobber barged into the room.

"Today there are so many things that I wish weren't true." Stoick told him.

"Spare us the noble speech." Ingrid said as she also walked into the room. "You know what he talking about."

"You joining Section 17." Gobber said.

"How could I ask anyone to make a sacrifice that I'm not willing to make myself?" Stoick asked.

"So, you're gonna die peacefully and leave humanity in the hands of Spitelout?" Ingrid asked. "Chief Spitelout?"

"Yes." Stoick told her. "He won't hesitate to do what needs to be done."

"Stoick, this is all happening too fast." Gobber said.

"We've waited as long as possible." Stoick said.

"There are things that we can do to buy us time." Gobber told him. "We should reconsider forcing an algae bloom to boost oxygen production."

"You've read the studies." Stoick said. "They would only contaminate the water supply."

"We can induce people into comas to reduce their resource consumption." Ingrid said.

"We've gone through all the possibilities." Stoick told her. "This is the only solution."

"No, it can't be this." Gobber said.

"I am doing what is right." Stoick told them.

"You're running away." Ingrid said. "You think what you're doing is right but you're a coward."

"How are you gonna explain it to Hiccup?" Gobber asked him. "How would you tell your son that you let these people die without doing absolutely everything in your power to save them?"

 **xXx**

Heather was walking through the forest, back to the camp sight. She was still angry, no furious, about what she had learnt what her brother did. How could he take a life like that? Just so he could get to her? Just so he could keep on playing big brother to her? What was he thinking?

Her thoughts were suddenly thrown out of her mind when she began to hear something rustling. She quickly stopped and began to look around. The sound began to get closer. Heather quickly broke into a sprint, hoping to get away from what ever is out there. She pushed the branches and leafs out of her way.

She soon came to a clearing, but it was a hill side. She quickly began to make her way down the hill, not noticing a large rock in her way. Her foot came in contact with the rock, causing her to fall forwards and roll down the hill. She grunted every time her body made contact with the ground as she was being thrown up.

She soon came to a stop when a pile of large rocks got in her way. Her head came in contact with one of the rocks and she fell unconscious, blood falling down her face.

 **xXx**

Dagur was walking back through the forest back to camp, after getting rid of the radio, when he heard feet approaching him.

"Hey!" He turned around to see Astrid running over to him."Where is it?" Astrid asked.

"Hey, princess." Dagur greeted. "You taking a walk in the woods?"

"They're getting ready to kill 300 people up there. To save oxygen." Astrid yelled to him. "And I can guarantee you it won't be council members. It'll be working people. Your people."

"Dagur." Dagur looked over to see Hiccup walk over to him. Hiccup gave him a push. "Where's the radio?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dagur told him as he pushed him back.

"Dagur the janitor?" Camicazi asked. "They're looking everywhere for you."

"Shut up." Dagur told her. Hiccup looked between the two.

"Looking for him why?" He asked.

"He shot Commander Jaha." She told him. Everyone looked over to him.

"That's why you took the wristbands." Astrid said. "Needed everyone to think we're dead."

"And all that 'whatever the hell we want'?" Hiccup said. "You just care about saving your own skin." Dagur didn't say anything and began to walk away, though Camicazi wasn't having it.

"Hey! Shooter! Where's my radio?" She asked him as she stood in front of her, getting in his way.

"Get out of my way." He told her.

"Where is it?" She asked him again, with the same attitude.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance." He told her as he got in her face.

"Really? Well, I'm right here." She told him. Dagur then quickly grabbed hold of her and held her against a tree. Hiccup and Astrid quickly went to pull him off her when Camicazi took a knife out of now where and held it to his face. "Where's my radio?"

"Okay, stop it." Astrid told them. The two carried on looked at each other for a couple more seconds before Dagur let go of her. He then began to walk off.

"Jaha deserved to die." He told them.

"He isn't dead." Camicazi told him. Dagur stopped his tracks and turned around.

"What?"

"You're a lousy shot." Camicazi told him. Astrid then walked over to him.

"Dagur, don't you see what this means? You're not a murderer." She told him. "You always did what you had to do to protect your sister. That's who you are. And you can do it again, by protecting 300 of your people." Hiccup then walked over to him.

"Where's the radio?" He asked.

"It's too late." Dagur told them.

 **xXx**

 _"People of The Ark, today I need to talk to you about our future."_ Everyone in the corridors of the Ark stopped their walk, their routines and looked up to the television screen to see Valka talking to them. _"The things I need to tell you are serious."_

"Sir, have you been on the network?" A guard said as he walked over to Spitelout, who was sitting at a table in his office.

"No." He answered. The guard showed his a small computer screen.

 _"The Ark is dying. This city in space that has been our sanctuary."_

"It's playing everywhere." The guard said as Spitelout stood up from his chair. "Tech's trying to shut it down."

 _"Time is running out. This is an undeniable reality, but we have pledged our lives to make sure that humanity does not share that fate. Now, while there is still time, we must come together and face this crisis head on. I believe it will bring out the best in us our strength, our humanity, our faith that we will come together in this time of uncertainty."_

Suddenly the screen changed to show Ingrid Hofferson. "A good friends of mine was killed for trying to warn us. In 12 hours, 320 people will be sacrificed to extend our oxygen supply unless we take action." She stood in a tech room when the doors where suddenly being banged on. She looked over to see a handful of guards trying to open the door.

"Dr. Ingrid Hofferson, open this door immediately." One of the guards yelled.

"The future doesn't belong to the chief or the council. It belongs to all of us." She then turned the broadcast off as the door was forced open. She looked over to see Spitelout walk into the room.

 **xXx**

Back on Earth a group of prisoners were wondering in the river to look for the missing radio. They have been trying to do this for the past half an hour. Hiccup then walked over to Astrid.

"She's not my girlfriend." Hiccup told her. Astrid looked up at him, giving him an confusing look.

"What?" She asked.

"I've grown up with her. She was a really good friend of mine." He told her.

"Was?"

"Just before I got arrested we had a falling out." He explained. "We were able to patch things up when she began to come a visit me."

"So, you guys have never..." Astrid began to say.

"Well, we did at first," Hiccup began to say as Astrid went to walk away. Hiccup then quickly walked in front of her to stop her, "but it didn't work out. We just realised that we weren't meant to be in a relationship."

"So you lied last night. Saying that you had never slept with anyone before." Astrid said.

"No, Astrid, we never did that. We were just in a small relationship." He told her. "That's it." Before anything else could be said someone called out.

"Hey. I found it." Everyone then began to walk over to the male prisoner who was now holding the radio. Camicazi walked over to him first and took the radio from him and walked back to shore.

"Can you fix it?" Astrid asked.

"Maybe. But it'll take half a day just to dry out the components to see what's broken." Camicazi explained.

"Like I said, it's too late." Dagur said. Astrid then stormed over to him.

"Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?" She asked him with a temper in her voice.

"You asked me to help. I helped." He told her.

"300 people are going to die today because of you." Astrid told him.

"Hold up." Camicazi quickly said. Astrid turned to her. "We don't have to talk to the Ark. "We just have to let them know we're down here, right?"

"Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?" Hiccup asked her. Camicazi smirked.

 **xXx**

"You've taken an impossible situation and made it worse." Stoick told Ingrid, who was standing in one of the council rooms with him. "This will cause a riot."

"Good." She told him. "Maybe we need one." Spitelout then walked over to the pair.

"Guards are double-strengthen and on alert station-wide." Spitelout told Stoick. "I've posted riot teams in all public areas."

"Any reports of unrest?" Stoick asked.

"Not yet, but people are gathering." Spitelout told him. "There's a crowd of 400 strong right outside." He said as he turned his head to Ingrid. "That's what you've done."

"All we can do now is determine our best option." Stoick told him.

"Options? We have no options." Spitelout told him. "We need time, or everyone on this station is going to die. Either in an uprising or by suffocation. Those are the options she's given us."

"Sir." Mulch said as he walked over to Stoick. He lent over and whispered something to Stoick. He then pulled away.

"All right." Stoick said. Stoick then turned to Ingrid. "The people outside are sending someone in to talk to you." Ingrid gave him an confusing look before hearing the sound of the doors opening. She looked over to see a familiar face. It was Reese's father.

"His daughter's a patient of mine." She told him before walking over to him. Stoick and Spitelout followed behind her.

"Hey, doc." He greeted. "I saw your video thing. Crap news, it sounds like."

"I'm sorry you had to hear it like that." She apologised.

"No good way to hear it, right?" He told her. "Anyway I'm here to volunteer, I guess you'd call it."

"Volunteer? For what?" Stoick asked.

"Section 17, sir." He told him. "Any way you do the math, some of us are gonna have to jump ship if everyone's gonna make it, so I'm gonna jump."

"You'd leave Reese without a father?" Ingrid asked him.

"This morning, you told me my daughter was going blind and there was nothing I could do to help her." He told her. "Turns out there is. Count me in." He said as he placed his I.D. on the table before walking out of the room. Then another male citizen walked into the room.

"Chief, sir, I'll take a spot in 17." He said as he placed his I.D. on the table. "Give my wife a little extra air." Then one by one more and more people volunteered. Ingrid and Stoick began to get emotional slightly.

"Val was right. It would bring out the best in us." Stoick whispered.

 **xXx**

On the ground, at the drop pod sight, Hiccup and Snotlout were carrying a control panel as Camicazi instructed people on what they needed to do. "We need to launch those flares ASAP if we have any hope of saving those people. "Hiccup, get that control panel to camp." She said as she walked past him. She then approached another male prisoner who was next to the drop pod. "You, pull out those firing circuits in one piece or they won't work." She then approached Astrid who was sitting opposite him.

"Astrid, can I have a hand?" Astrid nodded before standing up and walking over to Camicazi. The both then went to the back of the drop pod. "Work these bolts here gently." She said as she pasted Astrid a wrench. "Rocket fuel likes to go boom." Astrid began to undo the bolts carefully with Camicazi watching her. "We're going to need power to fire."

"They're tying in the batteries on the drop ship." Astrid told her. "Should be ready when we get there."

"Great. So, what's the problem?" Camicazi asked suddenly. Astrid looked up at her.

"Nothing." She told her. Camicazi arrived on looking at her. "I just, if we get the rockets to launch, will they see them from the Ark?"

"Like the good book says, it's all about burn time and cloud cover." Camicazi told her.

 **xXx**

Spitelout walked into Stoick's chambers with a small computer in his hand. He walked over to Stoick, who was sitting at his desk. "Here's the final list of volunteers. They'll report to B deck in less than an hour." Stoick took the computer and stood up from his chair, looking at the screen as he walked around his room.

"This is more than enough." Stoick said.

"We rejected almost 100." Spitelout told him. Stoick looked up at him with a shocked face. "Essential personnel and minors. Ingrid's announcement proved to be very convincing."

"I don't think that she or my wife convinced anyone." Stoick told him. "They spoke to something that was already inside of them. The new chancellor should remember that." Stoick then placed the computer on the table began to walk to the door. "I better get to 17. Don't want to be late for my own funeral."

"Stoick." Spitelout side. Stoick stopped and turned around. "You don't need to do this now."

"I know what I'm doing is right for my people." Stoick told him. "They've inspired me."

"No, they volunteered because you inspired them." Spitelout told him.

"My wife inspired them and I got her killed." Stoick told him. "I got my own wife killed."

"One decision does not define a man." Spitelout told him. "Valka is gone. You're here. Our survival depends on having a leader who can inspire people to self-sacrifice. You're that man. Not me."

 **xXx**

"Why do you have to work the double shift?" Reese asked her father. "It's not fair."

"Sorry." Her father apologised. "Things need to get done. You be good for Miss Jocine."

"Thanks, because I was gonna totally be terrible if you didn't remind me." Reese joked. Her father then pulled her close to move the hair out of her face.

"Come here." He told her but she pulled away.

"Stop it." She told him.

"I can't even see your face." He told her.

"Seriously."

"Okay. Just give me a kiss." Reese gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek, but he wasn't going for that.

"Hey." He said as he pulled her in for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She said as she walked away with Jocine, not looking back.

 **xXx**

In the tech room Ingrid stood back watching everything get ready for Section 17. Gobber then appeared by her side.

"Have we heard from Camicazi?" Ingrid asked him. Gobber shook is head.

 **xXx**

"Move it, move it, move it!" Camicazi yelled as they began to get the flairs in place, ready for launch.

 **xXx**

Ingrid and Gobber then saw Stoick walk into the room. "What changed his mind?" Ingrid asked. Before Gobber could reply Spitelout stood beside her.

"Just the truth." He told her. Ingrid and Gobber looked over to him. "I reminded him that transitioning to a new chief would be destabilising. We can't afford any more upheaval."

"No, we can't." Gobber said.

"I left two men. Monitoring the radio. If there's any word from Raven, they'll call down immediately. I gave clear orders." Spitelout told them.

"Thank you." Ingrid told him. They watched as more people left their belonging on a table as they walked into Section 17. Reese's father was next.

"Mr. Lemkin, I want to thank you for your sacrifice." Stoick said as he shook his hand.

"Don't. This is for my daughter. You just think about doing right for the people that are left behind." He told him before walking out of the room.

 **xXx**

"Here you go." A male prisoner said as they past an object to Hiccup. Everyone was rushing about to get this done.

 **xXx**

"Sir, all vents and hatchways to Section 17 are closed." A man said from behind a control panel. Stoick stared at the screen in front of him, of all of the men and woman who were sitting on the ground, waiting. "We have a hard seal." Stoick didn't say anything. "Sir?" Stoick turned his head to the gentleman. "The order?" Stoick then walked over to the control panel and placed his hand above the screen before pressing his finger tips on it.

 **xXx**

The flair set fire before flying from the ground into the air. The prisoners watched in amazement as they flew straight into the sky.

 **xXx**

The volunteers one by one began to fall slowly into a deep sleep. Reese's father sat against a wall as he played with a small object in his hands. Slowly his eyes began to drop, his head became heavy and soon a small hair clip fell from his hands.

 _'And we hereby commit these souls to the deep Who at their last gave all to the world of the living. May they be remembered forever, until there is no more pain, no more suffering, and the abyss itself shall give up her dead and return them to us.'_

 **xXx**

Ingrid and other medical staff walked into the room filled with bodies. They slowly moved around as they began to clear each of them out. Some closed the eyes of they who had fallen. Ingrid made her way over to Reese's father and knelt down in front of him. She saw the small hair clip on the ground and picked it up. She looked at it before holding it in a fist in her hand.

 **xXx**

"You think they can see it from up there?" Hiccup asked Astrid.

"I don't know. I hope so." Astrid told him. She looked at them before remembering something he had told her. "Can you wish on this kind of shooting star?"

"I don't know." Hiccup told her. "I wouldn't even know what to wish for. What about you?" Astrid stayed silent, not knowing herself.

 **xXx**

Heather slowly began to stir, regaining contentiousness. She slowly lifted her head, but quickly stopped from the pain it was causing her. She was dirty, bloody and in some pain. Slowly and carefully she began to move to stand up, moving her head to the left. She didn't even get her body up when she saw a pair of eyes staring down at her. It was a male man, with brown hair and markings on his face. It was not a prisoner she recognised. It was a grounder.

 **xXx**

Stoick was sitting at his desk with a glass in his hand, it was alcohol. Gobber walked into his room.

"You should sleep." Gobber told him as he walked over to him.

"How?" Stoick asked.

"We make the best choices that we can," Gobber told him as he took the glass away from Stoick and took a sip of his own, "and then we put our faith in a forgiving Thor."

"Do you think we deserve to be forgiven?" Stoick asked as he stood up from his desk and walked over to the window next to it. Gobber didn't answer him. Stoick sighed, ready to turn away when something caught his eye. Three small objects glowing in space by Berk. "Did you see that?" Stoick asked. Gobber walked over to the window and quickly saw the same thing Stoick had seen. It was then they both realised what it meant. They're alive.


	6. His Sister's Keeper

**17 years ago**

A 7 year old Dagur sat in his and his mothers room alone. He had a nervous look on his face as he watched his Mother stand with her knees bent as she began to deliver her second baby. "Mom, please, let me get a doctor." He begged.

"No!" She quickly said as she carried on breathing heavily. Her black hair stuck to her face from the sweat. "You can't tell anyone. Tell me what happens if you do. Say it."

"You get floated." Dagur answered. "I don't understand. Why is it wrong for mum's to have more than one baby?"

"The Ark couldn't survive." His mother answered. "The chief can't allow it."

"He's, like, the Emperor Augustus, right?" He asked. His mother nodded in pain.

"That's right. Just like the emperor we read about." She told him. She then began to breath even harder, more pain entered her system. "The baby's coming. Get the blanket." Dagur quickly reached over to their bed and picked up the blanked. His mother's face continued to cringe in pain as she let out scilent screams. Then with a final breath of pain the baby came out. Dagur handed the blanket over to his mother as she wrapped the new born up. His mother looked up to him.

"My brave boy. You have a sister." She told him. She then carfully handed the child over to Dagur, who carfully took her into his arms. "You should name her."

"Augustus had a sister." Dagur told her. "Heather." The baby then began to cry out slightly.

"Dagur, you can't let her cry." His mother told him in a tired voice. "Here. Give her to me." As Dagur went to hand the child over to his mother she let out a groan of pain and began to fall asleep.

"No, mom, mom, you can't fall asleep." He told her as he tried to push her to keep her awake.

"I'm so tired." She said. She then slowly looked over to her baby. "Your sister. Your responsibility." Heather then began to cry again and his mother fell asleep. Dagur began to panic.

"Mom, mom, what do I do? Mom!" She didn't answer him.

"Shh. Please. Shh." He begged as he placed a finger to his lips. Heather carried on crying. He then quickly placed his finger to the baby's lips and she began to suck on it. Dagur let out a sigh of relief.

"See? I told you. It's ok." He said. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, Heather. I promise."

 **xXx**

Dagur walked round the camp with a torch in his hand. He had a worried expression on his face. "Heather!" He called out. He walked up to each tent he passed and lifted up the sheet, checking inside. He then walked over to the tent seeing the sheet was open and saw Hiccup sitting up. "You're up?" Hiccup looked up and exited the tent.

"Yeah." He told him. "Knowing that hundreds of people might be dying on the Ark makes it pretty hard to sleep."

"Camicazi's flares will work." Dagur told him.

"Her radio would've worked better." Dagur looked away from him.

"Have you seen Heather?" Hiccup shook his head.

"No." He answered. "It's Heather. She's probably chasing butterflies."

"Hiccup, I've checked the camp." Dagur quickly told him. "She's not here."

"Okay. I'll help you find her." Hiccup told him. Dagur nodded before they started walking away from her tent and around the campsite. "Let's check again. You go to the drop ship. I'll check the rest of the tents."

"Thank you." Dagur told him.

"Don't thank me." He said to Dagur. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Heather."

 **xXx**

Heather's eyes slowly opened. She moved her head so it was straight, only to start groaning in pain. Every part of her body hurt and ached. She slowly starts to sit up, feeling her body ache more and more as she moved. She had a quick look in her surroundings. She was in some sort of cave. The cave and a messy pile of books and wooden cars. She looked her right knee, seeing she was bending it, it had a tear in her trousers where they was a large cut.

She heard slight rustling. She looked over in front of her. There must of been torches lighting the cave because the was a orange light on the wall in front of her, and a shadow passing it. Heather quickly began to panic. She quickly climbed to her feet, but the moment her right foot had the pressure of her body it gave way, have her collapse back on the floor with a scream of pain.

She looked in front of her to see the ground she had seen before walking over to her. She placed her hand in front of her. "Please, please don't hurt me." She begged. He didn't listen to her and grabbed hold of her left leg, dragging her towards him. He then brought the knife he had into the air, it was orange at the tip. "No! No! No, please! No! No!" He brought it down. "Aah!"

 **xXx**

Back at the camp Dagur walked over to a clearing in the camp sight, carrying a bag under his arm. "Hey, everybody, gather around and grab a weapon." He called out. He dropped the bag to the ground, inside was knifes, axes and other hand made weapons. "My sister's been out there alone for 12 hours. Arm up. We're not coming back without her." Everyone who had volunteered started to grab a weapon each. Hiccup then saw Fishlegs walk over to the bag. He quickly walked over to his best friend.

"Hey, Fishlegs, you don't have to do this." Hiccup told him. "You haven't left camp since we brought you back."

"Hiccup, I need to do this." Fishlegs told him.

"We need all the people we can get." Dagur told him. Fishlegs and Hiccup looked over to him. "We need a tracker."

"Don't worry, I'm coming." Hiccup told him as he pickled up a sword from the bag.

"We should bring Astrid too." Dagur told him. Hiccup gave him a confusing look.

"Why?"

"For all we know my sister could be hurt out there." Dagur told him. "Astrid will be able to help her."

"All ready ahead of you." Astrid said as she walked over to them with a axe over her shoulder.

"You sure you know how to work that thing?" Snotlout asked as he walked over to them. "Maybe you she let a man handle a weapon like that." He said as he patted himself.

"Okay." Astrid said as she walked over to Hiccup. "Think you can handle this?" Hiccup laughed. Snotlout rolled his eyes.

"I think I'm better with swords that axes." He told her.

"Guys, guys." Tuffnut called out. Everyone looked over to him too see him pointing to the sky. "Did you see that? Look up there." People began to say as they saw hundreds of white glowing lights falling from the sky. It was obvious to some people what they were.

"They didn't work." Camicazi said as she walked over to Astrid and Hiccup, also looking up at the sky. "They didn't see the flares."

"A meteor shower tells you that?" Dagur said looking over to them. Hiccup shook his head.

"It's not a meteor shower, it's a funeral." He told him. "Hundreds of bodies being returned to the Earth from the Ark. This is what it looks like from the other side."

"They didn't get our message." Astrid said. Dagur looked to the ground with a disappointed look. Camicazi quickly marched over to him.

"This is all because of you!" She yelled, ready to launch at him but was held back by Hiccup.

"I helped you find the radio." Dagur pointed out.

"Yeah, after you jacked it from my pod and trashed it!" Camicazi told him.

"Yeah, he knows." Astrid told her as she also helped Hiccup hold her back slightly. "Now has to live with it." Dagur looked up at the sky, watching the bodies fall once more before looking back over to Hiccup, Astrid and Camicazi.

"All I know is that my sister is out there and I'm gonna find her." He said. "You two coming or what?" Hiccup and Astrid nodded. "What are we waiting for? Move out!" Dagur the the group of volunteers then began to walk out of the camp, Hiccup and Astrid waiting behind for a moment.

"We have to talk to them. 300 won't be enough." Astrid said looking up at the sky. "The oxygen level will just keep dropping."

"And if we don't tell them that they can survive down here, they'll kill more people. They have to." Hiccup also said.

"Guys." Fishlegs said as he waiting behind with them. "They're leaving. We gotta go." Hiccup began to walk but Camicazi held onto his hand. He looked over to her.

"I gotta do this." He said. "And you should stay and fix the radio, okay?"

"Fix it?" Camicazi said believing he was say the impossible. "The transmitter's smashed. Unless there's a parts depot down here, we're not talking to the Ark." Hiccup then thought of a place he could get one. He looked over to Astrid, who must of been thinking the same thing because she nodded.

"I know a place you might be able to get a transmitter." Astrid told her. Camicazi nodded.

"Great. It looks like you're coming with me instead." Camicazi told her.

"Hiccup?" Hiccup looked over to Fishlegs who had a nervous look on his face. "We're not gonna find her without you." Hiccup sighed before looking back over to Astrid and Camicazi.

"Be careful." He said to both of them. He then gave Camicazi a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"I love you." Camicazi said.

"I love you, too." He said back before letting her go. He then gave Astrid a quick peck on the cheek. "See you soon."

"See you soon." She said back. Hiccup and Fishlegs then walked away into the darkness, following the group.

 **xXx**

Heather's eyes slowly cracked open after passing out from earlier. She slowly opened her eyes, hearing the sound of water dropping. She suddenly remembered where she was and quickly sat up with a gasp. She began to look around the room to see if the man from earlier was there. He wasn't.

"Hello?" She called out. "Is anybody here?" She carried on looking around the room before her eyes landed on her leg, her injured one. She brought her leg up slowly. Her hands shaked as she moved her rip in her trousers apart to have a look at her injury. It was no longer bleeding but instead just a small cut. "He fixed it?"

She brought her feet flat onto the floor and slowly stood up. It still hurt to have her weight on her leg, but not as near as bad as before. She began to limp round the room and looked above her. The moon was showing. She walked over to a wall next to her and took hold of a long stick. She then made her way through the caves.

She began to walk very slowly through the caves, with the long stick held up ready for any attack. She then saw a light above her. She looked up to see a sort of opening to the outside, only it was cover with wood making it hard for her to fit through. Not giving up, Heather placed her hands on the wood and placed her feet on the wall in front of her and began to pull down, hoping it would break. She carried on for a couple more seconds before she slipped and fell to the floor. She groaned and wimped in pain. She slowly sat up again and looked up at with an annoyed face. Looks like she would need to find another way out.

 **xXx**

The group walked through the pitch black forest, each with a touch in their hand or a flashlight. Tuffnut was walking ahead of the group slightly when he came to a hillside. He moved his flashlight forward and noticed something lying at the bottom of the hill. "Look! Over here!" Dagur quickly ran over to him.

"What is it?" He asked. Tuffnut then began to flash the light on the object.

"Right there. You see it?" It was a belt in a bush. "Is that Heather's?"

"Rope." Dagur ordered. Snotlout passed him the rope. Hiccup walked over to him.

"What are you doing?" He asked Dagur.

"We need the rope to get back up." Dagur pointed out. "Flashlight." Tuffnut passed him his flashlight. Dagur then took hold of the rope and began to quickly walk down the steep hill. Once at the bottom he placed his hand in the bush and took out the belt. "It's hers." He called out. He then carried on walking down. "I'm going all the way down."

Fishlegs began to breath heavily slightly as he walked over to the rope. He looked over to Hiccup and passed his tourch over to him. Hiccup took the touch and wached his friend walk down the hill. The other prisoners began to think he was crazy. Hiccup then followed his lead.

Dagur walked over to a small pile of rock and placed his hand on them. He felt something cold. He took his hand away and saw blood. Fishlegs landed at the bottom with a thud. Soon Hiccup joined them. They both walked over to Dagur and also saw the blood. They knelt down next to him.

"Someone else was here." Hiccup said as he pointed to a footfrint. "The prints are deeper going that way." Hiccup said as he pointed ahead of him. "He was carrying her."

"If they took her, she's alive." Fishlegs told him. "Like when they took me." Dagur looked at him before looking ahead and walking in the directions of the footprints. Hiccup, Fishlegs and the other prisoners, who had joined them on the ground, began to follow him.

 **xXx**

Heather carried on walking through the cave, looking for a way out. She has been at this for nearly half and hour. She carried on walking when she saw something in the wall ahead of her. It was a small hole. She walked over to it and began to move the large rocks, making the hole bigger. Soon the hole became big enough for her to crawl through. It was very narrow and there were bug inside but it was her only way out. Taking a deep breath she climbed her way into the hole.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Dagur walk in front of the group, following the footprints, which soon lead them to a sick sight. Skeletons were tied to the trees all around them.

"Aah! I don't speak Grounder," Hiccup told Dagur, "but I'm pretty sure this means keep out."

"Let's get out of here." "It's crazy." "I'm outta here." "Yeah, me, too." The prisoners around them began to say as one by one each of them left.

"Go back if you want." Dagur told them. "My sister, my responsibility." He said as he walked ahead.

"I'd walk into hell to find her." Fishlegs said as he joined Dagur.

"I think we just did." Hiccup told him as he followed.

"This is crazy." Snotlout nearly yelled as he also followed. The twins then looked at each other.

"We do love crazy." Ruffnut pointed out.

"I hate that about us." Tuffnut said as they bother also followed.

 **xXx**

"Go!" 14 year old Dagur yelled as he carried his 7 year old sister, Heather, on his back round their room. Their mother smiled as she watch her two children playing. Dagur then placed his sister on the floor.

"I want another pony ride." Young Heather told her brother. Dagur, who was out of breath looked at his sister with a surprised look on his face.

"You want another one?" He asked her. She nodded. He then placed his hands on his knees so he was level with her. "Okay, you want to go through the jungle or the forest?"

"I want to see the Ark, Dagur." She said as she played with her hands. "Take me out the door." Before Dagur could say anything their mother talked.

"That's enough. Both of you." She told them. Then the alame in their room went of, meaning one thing. Inspection. "It's time."

"But no. I don't want to!" She said with a scared voice. "How do you even know?"

"Yeah, mom, tell us why you're never surprised by surprise inspections." Dagur said as he began to move the table their mother was at and the chairs.

"Mind yourself, Dagur." His mother said as she knelt down in front of Heather. "Tell your sister what happens if they find her." Dagur rolled his eyes.

"She knows what happens. You've told her a thousand times." He said as he moved the final chair. "Heath, you know the drill." He said as he open a door in the floor.

"I hate the drill." She told him as she pointed to the floor. "Sometimes I wish I was never even born." Their mother then placed her hands on the top of her arms and turned her to face her.

"Stop it, Heather. I know you're afraid, but fear is a demon. Close your eyes and tell yourself that you are not afraid. That is how you slay the demon." Their mother said. Heather didn't say anything. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Inspection, open up." A guard said from the other side of the door.

"Say it." Her mother said.

"I'm not afraid." Heather whispeared.

"Okay." Their mother placed a kiss on her head as she and Dagur led her to the floor. Heather layed on her side and took a teddy bear Dagur passed her, before having the door close. Dagur quickly placed everything back while their mother went to open the door. Dagur nodded to his mother. She nodded back and opened the door.

"Miss Blake, by authority of the council, we're here to perform a random inspection." A guard with white hair said as he and three other guards walked into the room. Dagur took hold of a video game and began to play it. He then looked down and saw the small red rope that opens the door. He quickly, but naturally sat down and placed his foot over it.

"Lieutenant Jaha, it's good to see you. Your uniform's ready." His mother said as she walked over to the table where the uniform laid. She picked it up and handed it over to Jaha. "There you go. Just like new." She then leaned in a little bit closer to him. "Do you have something for me?" Jaha placed his hand on his mother's ass and began to squeeze it. Dagur saw this and looked away in disgus. "Dagur's letter of recommendation." Jaha stopped his actions and looked over to the 14 year old.

"You think you're guard material, kid?" Dagur looked up. "Come here. Let's have a look at you." Dagur froze. If he moved then the rope would be visible.

"I'm good, thanks." Dagur told him.

"Dagur. Stand up. Now." His mother ordered.

"I don't think so." Dagur said.

"You want to be in the guard or not?" Jaha asked. Of course he did. "Come here. 3 seconds." Dagur looked over on the table and saw his mother's sewing kit. An idea then popped into his head. He quickly stood up, knocking over to box.

"Dagur!" His mother called out. "I'm so sorry, Inspector."

"Don't be." Jaha said. "Maybe the guard will make a man out of him. Clean that up." Jaha ordered.

"Sir." Dagur said as he knelt down and began to pick the objects up.

"Come to my quarters later. He'll get that recommendation." Jaha said as he and the other men left. Dagur sighed.

"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid." Heather whispeared from under the floor.

 **xXx**

"I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid." Heather whispered as she pulled herself through the narrow tunnel. The sounds of mice squeaking and bugs moving was all she could hear. "I'm not afraid." She said once again. She then saw something ahead of her. It was white. She pulled herself more and more before she no longer felt the dirty ground of the tunnel on her front but instead solid flat ground on her back. She was out.

Heather let out a sigh before pushing herself back behind a bush and had a look round to check it was clear. She then quickly stood up and ran as fast as she could.

 **xXx**

Astrid and Camicazi walked through the woods passing bushes and trees. Camicazi stopped walking and looked down. Astrid also stopped and looked back at Camicazi, who was admiring a red flower.

"They're so beautiful." Camicazi said as she touched the petals on the flower.

"Camicazi, I know you just got here yesterday, but we don't have time for this." Astrid told her. "Come on." Camicazi laughed as she picked the flower and followed Astrid who was walking ahead.

"Hurry up and save the world." Camicazi laughed. "You remind me of Hiccup." Astrid didn't say anything. "So, what did you come down here for?"

"Stealing medication." Astrid told her.

"Why would you-" Camicazi asked.

"For my mother." Astrid told her. "She got serously ill, the medication that would help her was high priority. She could only have one dose. It didn't work."

"So you stole it." Camicazi said.

"With my uncles help." Astrid said. "He broke into the safe, I stole and used the medicine."

"So you have no one left?" Camicazi asked. Astrid shook her head.

"My mom is still alive, but my uncle got floated." Astrid said. Camicazi didn't say anything. "So what about you? What is your mother like?"

"Well, my mom was a-wol most of my life." Camicazi told her. "When she did show up, it was empty-handed. Pretty sure she had me just to trade in my rations for moonshine." They soon arrived at the safe house. Astrid knelt down and began to move the leafs.

"How'd you survive?" Astrid asked.

"Boy next door." Camicazi told her. "Hiccup. He shared his rations. Remembered my birthday. Saved my life. He's my family."

 **xXx**

Dagur, Hiccup, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and four other male prisoners where the only once left looking for Heather.

"I got nothing." Hiccup said as he looked over to Dagur. "We lost the trail."

"Keep looking." Dagur told him. Everyone was spread out slightly. One male prisoner was behind everyone was looking around when he failed to miss a ground jump from a tree behind him. They placed their hands round his mouth to stop him from screaming and jumped back up into the tree.

"Wandering around aimlessly isn't the way to find your sister." Snotlout told him.

"We should backtrack." Hiccup told him

"I'm not going back." Dagur said.

"Hey, where's John?" A male prisoner said. Everyone looked behind them to see the teen had disapeared.

"I just saw him a second ago." Fishlegs whispeared.

"Spread out." Dagur told them. "He couldn't have gotten that far." Before anyone could move a body fell from the grees and onto the ground. Everyone looked at the body with a shocked and scared face. It was John. With a slit throat.

"They use the trees." Hiccup said as he looked round in the trees.

"We shouldn't have crossed the boundary." A prisoner said.

"Now can we go back?" Another prisoner said.

"There." Hiccup said as he pointed to a grounder ahead of them. Everyone began to look around to see more and more grounders appearing.

"Another one." Ruffnut said with a nervous voice.

"We should run." Hiccup whispeared.

"Good idea." Snotlout said before taking off. Everyone else quickly followed his lead. The grounder then began to run after them.

 **xXx**

"Let's try this one." Astrid said as she carried on searching through the cupboards. Camicazi used her flashlight too look round the room.

"How did you find this place?" She asked.

"I didn't. Hiccup found it. I was with him at the time though. Simply stepped on the door." Astrid told her. She then saw a old toy car. She took a look at it. "Hey, will this work?" Camicazi looked over to Astrid and saw the car.

"Sweet. RF. Radio frequency." Camicazi told her. "If we can just find the controller, we'll be golden."

"All right." Astrid said as the both began to look around the room for the controller.

"Got it." Camicazi said as she walked back over to Astrid with a large controller in her hand. She then began to take the controller apart. "Find the beauty in the unexpected."

"What that?" Astrid asked.

"Just something Hiccup and I say." Camicazi told her.

"So you and Hiccup," Astrid began to say, "are you two..."

"Together?" Camicazi finished. "No, we're more like family than lovers. Besides, wouldn't want to scare my brothers girlfriend away."

"Wait, what?" Astrid quickly said. Camicazi laughed.

"Come one, that peck on the cheek was what? Something he does to every girl?" Camicazi asked.

"Okay, so we have this thing going on, its not that important." Astrid told her.

"Are you hearing yourself? I saw this one girl at a masquerade ball all over him. The girl Hiccup chooses to be with is the girl who is going to spent the rest of his life with." Camicazi told her. Astrid blushed before looking down. Camicazi laughed as she carried on taking the controler apart.

"Good to go?" Astrid asked as she jestured the controler.

"Hurry up and save the world, right?" Camicazi joked. "Yeah. We're good."

 **xXx**

"Let's go! Let's go!" Tuffnut yelled as the group carried on running away from the grounder. They have been running for about 10 minutes no stop.

"What are we gonna do? They keep heading us off." Ruffnut yelled as he carried on running.

"Just keep running." Hiccup told her.

"I can't run much longer!" Fishlegs yelled as he breathed heavily.

"I'm not stopping for him!" Snotlout yelled. Dagur stopped his feet.

"I'm sick of running anyway." Dagur said as he turned around and began to walk back. Hiccup quickly ran over to him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked thing Dagur was crazy.

"They know where she is." Dagur told him. A male prisoner then saw a grounder heading towards him. He quickly ran off after his friend.

"Diggs, where are you?" He yelled.

"Roman!" Tuffnut yelled as he and the other ran after him. Roman carried on running, looking behind himself to see if the grounder was following him. He looked forward and suddenly stopped. Seeing Diggs with a sword through his chest. He screamed before running off again. "Romen."

"Stop." Hiccup yelled as he and everyone else stopped looking at the dead body in front of them. "They were leading us here. It's the only direction we could run in."

"Hey. Where'd they go?" Fishlegs said as he looked around.

"After Roman." Dagur said before taking of after the teenager.

 **xXx**

Heather carried on running through the forest before stopping when she heard a male scream. She looked around to see who the voice belonged to. Before she could call out to the screamer a hand covered her mouth. She began to scream, though they came out as muffles, and thrash around trying to escape. She was lead to a tree and forced to kneel down as she saw a teenage boy run through the woods screaming.

Her eyes widened as she saw a spear hit the boy in the chest, sending him flying back into a tree killing him. Heather became slient. The man behind her slowly moved his hand away from her mouth. She didn't let out a scream. He then moved her away from the tree and through the forest.

 **xXx**

16 year old Heather was sitting at the table sewing clothes when the door opened. 23 year old Dagur walked into the room, wearing a guards uniform. "Heath, you'll never guess what's about to happen." He said with an excited tone.

"Inspection." She said with a sigh. "I'll get in the hole." She moved to stand up but Dagur quickly rushed over to her.

"No, no, no." He told her. "Sit. This is great." Heather sighed and placed her face in her hands.

"Please, Dagur, I don't want to hear about another amazing moonrise when I'm never gonna be able to see one." She told him.

"You're going to see one right now." He told her. Heather gaver her brother an confused look. "The Unity Day masquerade dance starts in 10 minutes. Now, I didn't want to say anything until I was sure my cadet unit was working security. I'm gonna be there watching you the entire time." He told her as he handed her a sliver mask.

"This is real?" She asked with disbelief. He nodded. She let out a sigh of laughed before placing the mask on her face. It was silver, covering the area of her eyes and the top part of her nose. "How do I look?" She asked as she began to pose slightly. Dagur laughed.

"Mysterious." He told her.

"Oh, Dag, what about mom?" She asked.

"Hey, will you stop worrying? We'll be back before she even knows you're gone." he told her. He then stood up from the table and walked over to the door and opened it. He looked back over to her. "Want to go for a walk?" She nodded. She walked over to the door and looked up at her brother. "It's okay." She then for the first time in her life stepped outside of the room.

They walked down the empty halls together for the first time. They soon came to a large window where the moon and Earth were visible. Heather walked over to the window, smiling at the veiw. It was a breathtaking view she had always dreamed of seeing. Suddenly the corridoors began to fill with teens her age. She looked over to her brother, seeing him smile at her. She smiled back before entering the room.

Hiccup and Fishlegs were standing at the side of the room when Fishlegs saw Heather. "Whoa. Who's that?" Hiccup then looked over and saw the girl.

"Another girl who won't notice us." Hiccup told him. Fishlegs let out a small laugh.

"Another girl who won't notice me, you mean." Fishlegs told him. Before Hiccup could say anything Ruffnut walked over to him, leaning onto him slightly.

"Hey, sexy." Hiccup let out a nervous laugh before pushing her away. Heather then made her way to the centre of the room and began to dance with girls around her age.

 **xXx**

Heather and the grounder were walking slowly through the woods. Heather limped slightly behind slowly became more and more tired. She stopped and leaned against a tree. The grounder noticed this and turned around, facing her.

"My leg." She told him. "I need to rest." The grounder walked over to Heather and picked her up bridal style. Heather had a shocked look on her face as they began walking again. She had no idea what to do. She then looked up to him, getting a better look of his face. He had black hair tied in a pony tail. He had green eyes and blue markings on his chin.

"Thank you. You saved my life." He didn't respond or look at her. "That boy back there, I knew him, so, if he's here, then so is my brother. Please, you have to help him, too. They'll kill him." She explained. Once again, no responce. She threw her head back.

"You don't understand me, do you? Great." He looked down at her for a second before looking back up. He carried on walking for a couple more minutes before finally stopping and placeing her down. She stood once again on her own two feet. He knelt down on the ground and moved a wood cover, showing an entrance to the caves in the ground.

Once they were in the tunnels he began to carry her again. He led her back to the room she woke up in and placed her on the floor. He then walked around her. "Why are you taking care of me? You found me at the bottom of that ravine. Fixed my knee." Suddenly there were chains wrapped round her wrist.

"What the hell are you doing? Please don't do this." He carried on wrapping the chains round her wrist before pulled her towards a wall. "Aah! Stop it! No, stop it! Stop!" She begged as she began to cry. He didn't listen to her and soon the chains were locked into the wall. "Please! Please don't do this." He left her crying.

 **xXx**

The now group of 6 were walking through the forest searching for their lost friend. They soon saw a arm sticking out from behind a tree.

"There he is." Hiccup said as he pointed to the arm.

"Roman!" Ruffnut whispeared loudly, hoping he would hear her. Dagur walked slowly over to the body, soon to see there was a spear sticking out of their chest. Everyone else walked over and saw this.

"They're playing with us." Dagur said.

"They can kill us whenever they want." Tuffnut pointed out.

"Then they should get it over with!" Snoutlout yelled. "Come on! We know you're out there!" Hiccup and Dagur quickly ran over to Snloutlout, trying to stop him from yelling anymore. Suddenly the grounders began to run over to them again. Each of the prisoners took out their weapons, ready to attack and defend themselfs. Suddenly a familiar noise was heard through the forest. The grounds stopped running towards them and began to run in the oposite direction.

"That horn. What does it mean?" Fishlegs asked.

"Acid fog." Hiccup told him as he began to unzip his backpack.

"We have to run." Ruffnut said. Hiccup shook his head.

"There's no time." He then pulled out the parachute.

 **xXx**

Heather was having the time of her life. She was dancing in the centre of the room with all the kids around her dancing themselves. A guy around her age then walked over to her.

"Nice eyes." He told her. Heather smiled. "What station are you from?" Before Heather could reply the musice stopped and the lights turned on. Everyone groaned.

"Solar flare alert. An x-class solar flare has begun on the starboard side of The Ark. All citizens must report to the nearest shelter zone immediately." Heather began to panic as she could not find her brother. She moved passed each of the teenagers, trying to find a way out when suddenly a hand grabbed her arm. She looked over to see Dagur pulling her around the room. He was about to lead her out when the guards began to appear. He couldn't get her out of the room.

"Dag, I need to get home!" She told him.

"You will." He promised her. Lieutenant Jaha then walked into the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you know the drill. Masks off. I.D. chips out." He ordered.

"Dagur, what do we do?" She asked him with a scared tone.

"Listen to me. Whatever happens, you get back home and get under the floor. You'll be safe there from the flare, like always." He told her.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked.

"Create a distraction." He told her as he took his tazer out. "Go on."

"Dagur, how do I get home?" He then realised, she has no idea where to go, and where home was.

"Cadet Dagur." Jaha said as he walked over to them. "Why is your weapon out?" He then looked over to Heather. "Mask off." He said as he pulled the mask of her himself.

"Sir, she's fine." He lied. "I already scanned her."

"You don't have a scanner." Jaha pointed out. "I.D. Now."

"Please, Lieutenant Jaha, I'm begging you, she needs to leave." Dagur begged. "As a fellow guardsman just let us walk out of here and I'll do anything you want. Anything."

"You're not a guardsman yet, cadet." He told Dagur. "I. D. now." Heather looked at the man one last time before running off. "Stop her." Jaha ordered. Heather didn't get very far as two guardmen grabbed hold of her.

 **xXx**

The group sat underneath the parachute. They have been sitting there in silents for 3 minutes. "How long are we supposed to wait?" Fishlegs asked.

"Will this even work?" Ruffnut asked.

"We'll find out." Hiccup said.

"No, we won't." Dagur told them. He moved the sheet slightly to look outside to see there was no orange smoke hurdeling towards them. "There's no fog." Everyone then began to get out from under the paracute.

"Maybe it was a false alarm." Snotlout said. Dagur looked around the area to see of there were any grounder in the area. He then saw one.

"They're coming back." He told the group. Everyone looked over to the grounder with scared eyes.

"I think he's alone." Fishlegs told them.

"Now can we run?" Ruffnut asked. Dagur then noticed something.

"He doesn't see us. I'm going after him." Dagur told them

"And what? Kill him?" Hiccup asked as if it was a crazy plan.

"No. Catch him." Dagur told him. "Make him tell me where Heather is, then kill him." Dagur then got up and went after the single grounder.

"How do we know he's not leading us to another trap?" Fishlegs whispeared to Hiccup.

"We don't." Hiccup told him.

 **xXx**

The grounder soon appeared through the cave door. Heather looked up at the grounder. He was kneeling down behind her. With a rock hidden in her hands she took a large swing, bringing it in contact with his head. He fell to the floor unconscious. She dropped the rock and took the key which was held in his hands. She quickly began to try and unlock the lock as footsteps where heard through the caves. She began to shake as the footsteps got louder. She suddenly dropped the key. As she tried to find it the footsteps stopped. She turned around to see a face she had been waiting to see all day.

"Dagur?"

"Heather." Dagur quickly rushed over to her.

"Get the key." Dagur quickly picked up the key from the floor and began to unlock the the lock. Soon the chains fell from her wrist and she threw heself at her brother.

"It's okay." He whispeard as he held her. "You're okay." What was unoticed was the grounder's eyes opening.

 **xXx**

Dagur walked into his empty cabin. It had been a year since his mother was floated and his sister was put in prison. There was then a knock on the door. He walked over to see a face he was not happy to see. Lieutenant Jaha.

"Cadet Dagur." Jaha greeted.

"It's Janitor Dagur now, Lieutenant." Dagur corrected him.

"Commander." Jaha said as he pointed to himself. "A lot's changed in the past year. May I?" He said as he entered the room.

"You've got some nerve coming here after pushing the button that floated my mother." Dagur told him.

"I was following orders." Jaha told him.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Dagur asked.

"You were a hell of a guardsman, Dagur, you know that? Smart, hardworking, resourceful." Jaha said.

"I wasn't a guardsman. That's what you said." Dagur pointed out. "I remember."

"You also said you'd do anything to protect your sister." Jaha said. "I remember, too. I hope that's still true."

"Is she okay?" Dagur asked with a worried tone.

"What I'm about to tell you is classified." Jaha told him. "Chief Stoick has approved a mission to Earth. He's sending the juvenile prisoners to the ground. 100 of them. Your sister included."

"No. You can't. It's not safe. You have to stop them." Dagur told him.

"I wish I could. What I can do is get you a seat on that drop ship." Jaha told him. "You're right. It's doubtful those kids will survive, but if you're there, at least Heather won't be alone."

"What do I have to do?" Dagur asked. Jaha then took out his gun.

"Kill the chief." Jaha told him. Dagur took the gun and looked at it.

"How about I kill you instead?" Dagur suggested as he pointed the gun to Jaha's face.

"Kill me and your sister goes alone to a radiation-soaked planet and you get floated like your mother." Jaha told him. "Ship launches in 20 minutes, Dagur. If you're gonna do this, we have to leave. Right now."

 **xXx**

Heather pushed away from my brother and looked over to Fishlegs, who was smiling. Heather laughed.

"How did you find me?" She asked as she limped over to him.

"Followed him." Fishlegs told her as they hugged and he pointed to the grounder on the floor.

"We should go." Heather told them. "Now. Before he wakes up."

"He's not gonna wake up." Dagur told her as he moved over to the wall and took a spear.

"Dagur, stop." Heather said as she moved over to her brother to stop him. Hiccup walked over to the grounder and knelt down in front of him. "He didn't hurt me. Let's just go."

"They started this." Dagur pointed out. Dagur then moved behind Hiccup. "Hiccup. Move." Hiccup though didn't move. He looked at a instroment attached to the grounder.

"Foghorn." Hiccup whispeared. Suddenly the grounder took a knife and stabbed Hiccup in the stomach. Hiccup fell back as Dagur and the grounder began to fight. The grounder threw Dagur to the floor and held the spear over his neck, pushing it down while Dagur used all his strengh to push it up.

"Stop! That's my brother!" Heather yelled to the grounder. He didn't listen to her though. Just as the spear was about to peirce Dagur's skin the grounder fell to the floor uncotious. Fishlegs was standing behind him with a log in his hands.

 **xXx**

"Astrid! Where's Astrid?" Tuffnut yelled as he, Fishlegs and Ruffnut ran into the camp sight. Heather was hanging onto Ruffnut for support. Astrid then walked over to them

"Hey. I'm here. What's up?" Astrid asked. Before anyone could say anything Dagur walked into the camp holding Hiccup in his arms, with a dager sticking out of his stomach.

"Hiccup." Astrid whispered. "Hiccup?" She quickly ran over to him, trying to keep herself together. "Oh Thor." She whispered over and over as she placed her two fingers on his neck. Camicazi then ran over and saw her 'brother'.

"No." Camicazi whispered. Astrid's eyes then lit up.

"He's alive." She announced.

"Dagur wouldn't let me take the knife out." Fishlegs told her, sounding slightly angry.

"No, that was a good call." Astrid told them. "Get him in the drop ship now. Go!" Astrid ordered as other prisoners came over and helped carry him to the drop ship. Camicazi then ran over to him.

"Astrid, can you save him?" She asked with a panicked voice.

"No. Not me. I need my mother. I need to talk to her." Astrid told her.

"There's still no radio." Camicazi told her in a fustrated tone.

"Cami, fix it! Go!" Astrid ordered as she pushed Camicazi in the direction of the raido. Astrid then saw Heather limping. She quickly ran over to her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. Just go." Heather told her. Astrid nodded before running back over to the drop ship. Dagur then saw Heather going to leave the camp. He ran over to her.

"Hey, hey. Why were you defending him?" Dagur asked in an angry voice.

"Because he saved my life. That spear that hit Roman was actually meant-" Dagur cut her off.

"No, you're wrong. I saved your life. For all you know, he was keeping you alive to use you as bait for one of their traps." Dagur told her.

"No. I don't think so." Heather told him.

"You don't think, Heather! That's the problem." Dagur pointed out. "They killed 3 of our people today. And if you would've let me kill him when I had the chance, Hiccup wouldn't be in there dying right now."

"Stop blaming me for your mistakes!" Heather yelled. "What happened to Hiccup is not my fault. I wanted to leave, so if Hiccup dies in there, that's on you. Everything that's gone wrong is because of you. You got me locked up on the Ark. You wanted me to go to that stupid dance. You got mom killed!"

"Me? Mom was floated for having you. She's dead because you're alive. That was her choice. I didn't have a choice. My life ended the day you were born." Dagur told her. Heather shook her head before going to walk of out of the camp only Dagur stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"You can't keep me locked up in here forever." She told him, with anger in her voice, before storming of inside the camp. He then walked over to the gate and called the people outside.

"Get inside." He ordered. Once everyone was inside he looked up at the sky. There was grey clouds and white lines flashing. "A storm's coming." He closed the gates.


	7. Contents Under Pressure

The storm was raging outside of the drop ship. Everyone was forced to stay inside for cover of the storm. The wind was incredibly strong. The parachute sheets that covered the entrance of the drop ship where shaking furiously in the air. Astrid watched as each person ran backwards and forwards out of the drop ship to grab their belongings.

"Come in, Ark Station." Astrid heard in the background. She turned around and walked over to Camicazi who was trying to make contact with the Ark. "This is Camicazi Cowlock calling Ark Station. Please come in. Can anyone hear me?"

"You sure you have the right frequency?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Camicazi snapped.

"Cami?" Astrid said to the frustrated girl. Camicazi turned her head to her. "You can do this. Okay?" She then walked away from Camicazi and over to an unconscious Hiccup who was lying on a table. He didn't have his shirt on anymore. Astrid began to clean round the dagger again.

"Calling Ark Station. Ark station, please come in. I'm on the ground with the 100." Camicazi said into the headset. She then turned her head over to Hiccup and Astrid. "We need you." She told them. Astrid turned her head to her.

 **xXx**

"We need to talk about those flares, Stoick." Gobber told Stoick. He and Gobber were sitting in a council meeting room with the rest of the council members.

"No. We don't." Stoick told him.

"I saw them, too." Ingrid told them. "We can't just ignore what we all know it means."

"We don't know what it means." Spitelout told her.

"It means that there is someone alive on earth." She said. "It means that our children might still be alive."

"More false hope." Spitelout muttered. Then a small buffering was heard through the room, though everyone ignored it.

"Ingrid, those flashes could've been anything." Stoick told her. "Lightning. Radiation in the atmosphere."

"In any case, whatever they were, that's a matter for the council to discuss." Gobber told him. Suddenly the same noise as before, buffering, was heard through the room.

"There it is again." Mulch said as he and everyone looked around, listening carefully as to what the noise could be. Suddenly a voice was heard.

"Calling Ark ship. Come to Ark Station."

"Camicazi." Gobber whispered. "She's still alive." Then everyone began to leave to the room and run through the corridors towards the tech room.

"Are you there? Please come in. Calling Ark Station. Can anyone hear me?" Camicazi begged from the ground.

"This is a restricted channel. Who is this? Please identify yourself." It was like time had suddenly stopped. They had made contact. Astrid quickly ran over to Camicazi's side, while the other prisoners gather round.

"This is Camicazi Cowlock." Camicazi explained. "I'm from Mecha Station. I'm transmitting from the ground. The 100 are alive. Please, you need to get Dr. Ingrid Hofferson. Dr. Ingrid Hofferson. Now."

"Hang on, Camicazi. We're trying to boost your signal." The male tech told her. Gobber and Stoick then ran into the room. "Get her off the Ark-wide channel. This room only." He ordered.

"Can she hear me?" Gobber asked as he joined in to try and help.

"Did you confirm the signal's origin?" Stoick asked the male tech.

"Yes, sir. It's coming from Earth." The tech explained. Ingrid then ran into the room.

"Are we in?" She asked.

"Yes. Camicazi. Are you there?" Gobber asked.

"This is Ingrid Hofferson, hello?" Ingrid called out.

"Mom? Mom, it's me." Astrid said through the speaker. That was the first time Ingrid had heard her daughter's voice in nearly a year.

"Astrid?" Ingrid said in dis-belief.

"Mom, I need your help. One of our people was stabbed by a grounder." Astrid explained.

"Astrid, this is the Chief." Stoick said. "Are you saying there are survivors on the ground?"

"Yes." Astrid told her. "The earth is survivable. We're not alone." There was silence through the room. No one knew what to say or do. "Mom, he's dying. The knife's still in his chest."

"Okay, can you patch me through to medical?" Ingrid asked Gobber.

"Of course." Gobber told her as he began to do his job.

"Astrid, is my son with you?" Stoick asked. Astrid froze.

"Sir, its Hiccup." Astrid told him. "He's the one stabbed." Stoick began to panic slightly. He had already lost his wife, he can't lose his son as well. He turned to Ingrid.

"Astrid needs you. Patch her in to me when they're finished." He then left the room.

"I'm gonna talk you through it step by step." Ingrid said. "Astrid, give 5 to medical. Medic."

"What?" Astrid yelled. She couldn't understand a thing. "Camicazi, what's wrong?"

"It's not the radio." Camicazi told her. "It's the storm."

"Dr. Hofferson, you should look at this." The tech said. Ingrid then looked over to the screen to see a large white cloud over the island the prisoners were. "There's a hurricane right on top of them."

"Astrid, we need to hurry." Ingrid told her daughter before quickly leaving the room with Gobber and headed to the medical station.

 **xXx**

Heather walked back into the drop ship with two canisters, Ruffnut right behind her. She walked over to Astrid and handed her a canister. Astrid took it and gave it a quick smell. "Ugh. Tuffnut's' moonshine?"

"Pretty sure no germ can survive it." Heather told her.

"Wait, how did you get this if Tuffnut's not even here?" Astrid asked.

"Ruffnut. Twins really do think alike." Heather told her.

"The storm's getting worse." Astrid said as she looked over at the entrance. "Ruff, close the doors."

"We still have people out there. Snotlout and Tuffnut still aren't back yet." Ruffnut told her.

"Neither is Dagur." Heather said.

"It's all right. They'll find somewhere to ride it out." Astrid told them. Camicazi then came running over to them.

"Look. One suture needle." Camicazi said as she passed the small needle over to Astrid.

"Right. I still need something to close the wound." Astrid told her.

"There's some wire on the second level. I use it for tents." Heather told her.

"Let's see it." Astrid told her. Heather nodded before running to get some.

"Stay away from the blue wires that run through the ceiling. I rigged it to the solar cells in the roof." Camicazi told her. "That means they're hot. You got that?"

"Yeah, I got that." Heather told her. She then turned to Astrid who had just finished washing her hands, and began to shake them.

"Tell me you can do this." Camicazi said to her. Astrid stayed silent. Before either of them could say anything someone called out.

"Hey, they're back." Everyone turned to the entrance to see Dagur, Snotlout and Tuffnut walk into the drop ship. Snotlout and Tuffnut were carrying the grounder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Heather said as she climbed back down from the ladder. The grounder dropped to the floor.

"It's time to get some answers." Dagur told her.

"Oh, you mean revenge?" Heather said.

"I mean Intel." Dagur told her. He then turned to Tuffnut and Snotlout. "Get him upstairs."

"Dagur, she's right." Astrid told him as she walked over to him. Before Dagur could reply a voice ran through the drop ship.

"Astrid, honey, we're ready. Can you hear me?" Dagur stared at the radio in shock.

"Look, this is not who we are." Astrid told him.

"It is now." He said before walking off. Astrid walked over to Hiccup and began to explain his injury.

"The blade is at a sharp upward angle, between the sixth and seventh ribs." She explained.

"Okay, how deep?" Ingrid asked.

"I can't tell how deep it goes." Astrid said. Ingrid sighed.

"That's all right. Just don't remove the knife yet." Ingrid told her. Camicazi began to pace up and down the room.

"Hey, here." Astrid said as she passed the canteen over to Camicazi. "Sterilise your hands." Camicazi took the canteen and began to drink from it. Once she finished drinking some of the alcohol she poured the liquid onto her hands.

"Astrid, can you see any fluid?" Ingrid asked. Before Astrid could reply a small fight broke out.

"Hey, watch it!" People began to push each other out of the way and began to yell.

"Damn it! Clear the room." Astrid told Camicazi.

"Everyone, upstairs! Now! Let's go!" Camicazi yelled to the group. Everyone obeyed and began to move.

"He feels a little warm." Astrid told her mother.

"Okay. That's all right. Fever sometimes accompanies trauma." Ingrid explained. "Astrid, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound." Astrid quickly knelt down slightly so she could look at the wound from a lower angle.

"Uh... no." Astrid answered.

"Pleura membrane's intact." Ingrid said. "That's good. Actually, really good. He got lucky."

"Hear that? You're lucky." Camicazi said to Hiccup.

 **xXx**

Up stair Tuffnut and Snotlout tied the grounder with chains so his arms and legs were apart. His body made the shape of an X. Suddenly he began to shake out of control.

"Whoa! He's awake." Snotlout pointed out.

"Tie him tighter." Dagur told them as he held a dagger. "The last thing we need is this bastard getting free because you screwed up." Suddenly the grounder stopped shaking when his eyes met Heather's. She was standing a few feet away from him, directly in front. Dagur saw this. "Heather, get out of here."

"I told you he was protecting me." Heather said as she walked over to her brother. "You didn't have to do this."

"This isn't about you." Dagur told her. "I'm doing this for all of us."

"You did that for all of us?" Heather asked as she gestured the grounder's bloody face.

"I did that for Hiccup and Fishlegs and Diggs and John and Roman." Dagur told her.

"It wasn't even him." Heather pointed out.

"You don't know that. We need to know what we're up against." Dagur told her. "How many there are and why they're killing us. And he's gonna tell us right now." He then began to walk over to the grounder but Heather was trying to stop him.

"No, Dagur, please." She begged.

"Snotlout, get her out of here." Dagur ordered.

"I was there!" Heather told him. Snotlout took hold of Heather's arm but she quickly pushed him away. "Hey, get get off of me!" He quickly let her go due to her temper. "I don't even think he speaks English. He won't understand you." Heather told him before climbing down the ladder.

"Oh, I think he will."

 **xXx**

"I think we have a problem." Ingrid whispered to Gobber. He was holding a tablet of what Hiccup's injury would look like. "If she's just a hair off, she could lacerate the aorta when she extracts."

"Is that-?" Gobber asked.

"Bad, really bad." Ingrid told him, Gobber let out a shaky breath. Ingrid then turned her chair back and began talking again. "Okay, Astrid, firm grip on the knife. You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left, very slightly to the left as it exits the rib cage."

"How very slightly?" Astrid asked as she was slightly confused and now more nervous. Camicazi was pacing again.

"Any less, too-" Ingrid said but was cut off.

"Wait, what was that? You dropped out." Astrid said.

"Astrid, 3 millimetres." Ingrid said with a firm voice. "Got it?"

"Yeah. Okay, I got it." She told her. "Here goes."

"Steady hand, Astrid." Ingrid told her. "You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once that knife is out, the hard part is over."

"All right. Extracting now." Astrid said. She placed one hand on the knife and the other on his chest. As she slowly began to pull the knife from Hiccup's body his eyes suddenly opened and he groaned in pain.

"He's waking up!" Camicazi yelled.

"Uhh!" He began to yell in pain.

"Hold him still." Astrid told her.

"Hiccup, I'm gonna get that knife out of you, okay?" Astrid told him.

"Ahh." He scream as he began to move slightly.

"Hiccup, you can't move. You got it?" Astrid told him. He moaned in pain but his head moved up and down.

"Okay. Here it goes." Astrid said. She slowly began to pull the knife out. Hiccup began to scream louder.

"Nice and slow, Astrid." Ingrid told her.

"Hiccup, do not move." Astrid told him as she carried on pulling the knife out while Camicazi held him down. "Almost got it." Suddenly there was a loud bang and the drop ship shook violently.

"Astrid. Astrid? What's happening?" Ingrid called. There was no answer. Astrid quickly stood up and saw Hiccup was no longer on the table but on the floor. He hand his left hand over the wound and tried to sit up. Astrid held the dagger in her hands. "Astrid, can you hear us? Astrid?"

"It's out." Camicazi called out. "She did it." Astrid and Camicazi quickly rushed over to Hiccup.

 **xXx**

Upstairs Snotlout and Dagur were pick up objects that fell to the floor from the drop ship shaking.

"What the hell was that? We under attack or not?" Dagur asked as he walked over to the ladder. Tuffnut climbed back up.

"Storm damage. We're okay." He told him. Dagur then walked back over to the grounder.

"We're gonna try this one more time. What's your name?" No answer. "Where's your camp? How many of you are there?" Still no answer.

"Hey." Snotlout said. Dagur turned around. "Check it out." Dagur and Tuffnut walked over to see Snotlout holding a small box with viles inside, each containing a different substance. "What is all this stuff?"

"Hell knows with these people." Dagur said. The three men then began to look through the different items the grounder was carrying. Dagur then picked up a small box. As he went to open the it the grounder began to shake again, trying to escape.

"Think we found something he doesn't want us to see." Tuffnut said. Dagur opened the small book to see different drawings.

"These aren't bad." Dagur commented. He then came across a drawing of a face that looked familiar to him. It was Heather. Dagur looked over to the grounder before looking back to the book. He then found another one that looked familiar. "It's our camp." Next to the picture was a single line next to each other. "I'm guessing if I counted all those marks, it would add up to 102. 10 are crossed out."

"That's how many people we've lost." Tuffnut said. Dagur stood up and walked back over to the grounder, who was not looking up at them.

"They've been watching us ever since we got here." Dagur said.

 **xXx**

"Okay. I'm done." Astrid announced as she cut the final stitch.

"Good. Do you have anything to cover the wound?" Ingrid asked.

"We'll make do, like always." Astrid told her.

"Should he be this pale? Warm, too." Camicazi asked as she ran her hand over Hiccup's forehead.

"He's lost a lot of blood, Cami, but if your brother's anywhere near as tough as you, I'm sure he'll be fine." Gobber told her. Astrid then placed her hand on his chest, feeling what Camicazi was feeling.

"Wait, mom, she's right. He's feverish, and his breathing's uneven." Astrid told her.

"You need to give him some time to recover. Let me know if he gets any worse, but I think I think he might just be out of the woods." Ingrid told her.

"Well, down here, there's nothing but woods." Camicazi joked. Astrid sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"I need a break." Astrid said as she stood up. "Stay with Hiccup."

 **xXx**

Back up stair Dagur continued to look through the Grounder's book when he came across another picture. It was human shaped but all scribbled in. "What the hell is that thing? Friend of yours?" Dagur asked. He didn't answer. The sound of the door opening was heard as Astrid climbed the ladder onto their level. She walked over and stared at the grounder in shock and slight pity.

"Well, if he didn't hate us before, he does now." She said. Dagur grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"Who cares? How's Hiccup?" Dagur asked.

"Alive." She answered. "His people will care. How long until they figure out where he is? And what happens when they do? I mean, when they come looking for him? They will, Dagur."

"Relax, princess." Snotlout told her. "No one saw us take him. He was chained up in that cave the entire time, and thanks to the storm, we didn't see a soul on the way back." There was a loud bang that echoed through the drop ship.

"Okay. In case you missed it, his people are already killing us." Dagur told her. "How many more of our people need to die until you realise we're fighting a war?"

"We're not soldiers, Dagur." Astrid told him. "Look at him. We can't win."

"You're right." Dagur said. "We can't. If we don't fight."

"Astrid, he's seizing!" Camicazi yelled.

"On my way." Astrid yelled as she rushed over to the ladder and began to climb back down. Once at the bottom she saw Hiccup's body had begun to shake violently.

"He was fine, then-" Camicazi said in shock and tears in her eyes.

"Get my mother on the radio now." Astrid ordered as she rushed over to Hiccup. Camicazi stood their. "Camicazi, now!"

"The radio's dead! Interference from the storm." Camicazi told her. She then walked over to Hiccup, facing Astrid. She began to cry slightly. "Please don't let him die." Astrid looked over to her. She had no idea what to do. Then slowly Hiccup began to stop shaking.

"Okay. It stopped. Quick, help me get him on his side." Astrid said as she tried to turn him over. Camicazi stood they staring at him. "Cami, there is fluid in his lungs. He could choke. Quick." Camicazi quickly snapped out of her thoughts and helped Astrid. Once Hiccup was on his side Astrid began to run her hands on him. "He's burning up."

"Fluid in his lungs. Does that mean the knife hit something?" Camicazi asked in a panicked tone.

"No. This isn't blood." Astrid told her as she wiped away the liquid from his mouth. "It's something else. I did, I did everything she told me." Astrid said like she had failed. Her eyes suddenly. "Wait. I've seen this before. Shortness of breath. Fever. Seizing. It's poison."

"Astrid, you sterilised everything. I watched you do it." Camicazi pointed out. Astrid shook her head.

"Not everything." Astrid then walked over and took the knife that hit Hiccup. "Stay here." She told Camicazi before climbing up the ladder. Once she was on the second floor she saw someone walk over to her.

"Astrid." Heather said as she stood next to her. "They locked the hatch." Astrid ignored her and carried on climbing an till she came to the closed door. She began to bad as hard as she could.

"Hey! Open the door!" She yelled. The door opened but Snotlout blocked her way through. "Get out of my way, Snotlout. Now!" He moved out of the way. Quickly Astrid made it to the level, Heather right behind her. She rushed over to the grounder and held the dagger in front of him. "What's on this?"

"What are you talking about?" Dagur asked.

"He poisoned the blade." Astrid told him. "All this time, you knew Hiccup was gonna die no matter what we did. What is it? Is there an antidote?"

"Astrid, he doesn't understand you." Heather told her.

"Vials." Dagur quickly remembered. "It's gotta be here." He said as he took the small box and passed it to Astrid.

"You'd have to be stupid to have a poison around this long without an antidote." Astrid said. She threw the blade of the floor and moved in front of the grounder. "Which one?"

"Answer the question!" Dagur ordered.

"Show us. Please." Heather begged.

"Which one? Our friend is dying down there and you can stop that." Astrid told him.

"I'll get him to talk." Dagur said as he walked over to the grounder, fist raised. Heather quickly grabbed his arm.

"Dagur, no." Heather begged.

"He wants Hiccup to die. Why can't you see that?" He then turned to Astrid. "Do you want him to live or not?" Astrid stayed silent.

"Astrid, you even said it yourself. This is not who we are! He was protecting me." Heather told her. "He saved my life."

"We're talking about Hiccup's life." Dagur told her.

"Do it." Astrid said. Heather gave her a shocked look. Dagur walked over to the grounder and began to cut his shirt open. His body had many scars and markings over it, but the most stood out would be a burn-like mark at the tom left side of his chest. It was shaped almost like a bird. Heather went to stop him but was held back by Tuffnut and Snotlout.

"Just tell us!" She begged the grounder.

"You're gonna show us the antidote or you're gonna wish you had." Dagur told him as he walked back over to the grounder with one of the straps from the seats.

"Dagur, no. Please." Heather begged. Dagur didn't listen to her and threw the belt across the grounds skin. He groaned in pain. He did it once again. Astrid quickly stopped him from doing it again and knelt down in front of the grounder, laying the viles on the floor.

"Please. Which one's the antidote? Just tell them." Astrid begged. The grounder stayed silent.

"Astrid." Snotlout said. Astrid turned to him. "I'm not letting my cousin die." Astrid sighed before picking up the viles and moving out of the way. Dagur once again threw the belt across the grounders skin.

 **xXx**

"You are the station reps of the Ark, and I don't blame you for losing faith in me." Stoick said. He had called a meeting for the station reps of the Ark. He had decided it was time for no more secrets." Spitelout and the rest of the council, apart from Gobber and Ingrid, were also there with him. "I kept the Ark's oxygen crisis from you. I lied about sending the hundred to the ground. But you can tell your stations that the deception ends here. You now know the whole truth, but there is one truth that stands above all the rest. Earth is survivable. The 320 souls who sacrificed their lives in the culling gifted the rest of us the time that we need to make it to the ground. Mankind is going home." Everyone began to speak with excitement to each other.

"How do we know that's everything?" A male station rep asked, also know as Mildew. "How do we know you're not still lying? To cover up for the culling?"

"This afternoon, I declassified the minutes of all council meetings." Stoick told him.

"Is that supposed to make us feel better? All those people died for nothing." Mildew told him.

"It was not in vain." Phlegam told him. "The 100 went down to the ground, finding out that Earth is survivable. And because of these people's sacrifices, your children will get to come down to the ground. That is not in vain."

 **xXx**

Dagur threw the belt across the grounder's skin once again. This has been happening for the pasr 5 minutes and the grounder still hasn't talked.

"Enough!" Heather yelled to her brother.

"Astrid! He's getting worse!" Camicazi yelled from the bottom floor.

"We're running out of time." Astrid said before kneeling in front of the grounder again and placing the viles down on the floor. "Which one? Which one is it? If you tell us, they'll stop. Please tell us which is the antidote and they'll stop this." The grounder still spoke no word. Dagur threw the belt onto the floor.

"If that doesn't work, maybe this will." Dagur said as he picked up his knife. "Astrid, you don't have to be here for this."

"I'm not leaving until I get that antidote." Astrid told him. Dagur walked in front of the grounder with the knife raised.

"Last chance." Dagur warned the grounder, though he did not speak. Before Dagur could take action Camicazi climbed up the ladder.

"He stopped breathing." Camicazi told them.

"What?" Astrid said, getting ready to run down the ladder.

"He started again, but next time, he might not." Camicazi told her.

"He won't tell us anything." Snotlout told her as he banged his hand against the wall.

"Want to bet?" Camicazi said as she to the wall and pulled out two blue wires.

"What are you doing?" Dagur asked.

"Showing him something new." She told him as she pushed the two wires together, creating a spark. She then quickly placed the wires on the grounder, electrocuting him. The lights in the drop ship flickered. He began to scream

"Which one is it? Come on!" She screamed before placing the wires back on his body. After a couple of seconds she let him go again. "He's all I have!"

"No more!" Heather yelled as she held the grounders knife in her hand.

"He's letting Hiccup die." Camicazi yelled over to her. Heather shook her head before placing the blade on her arm, cutting herself.

"Heather, no!" Dagur yelled. The grounder suddenly leaned forward slightly, breathing heavily.

"He won't let me die." Heather whispered.

"Heather, what the hell did you-" Dagur didn't finish what he was saying because Heather knelt down in front of the grounder, placing the knife in front of the viles.

"This one?" She asked as she pointed to the middle vile. The grounder didn't speak but shook his head. "Good." She told him before moving the knife to the left. The grounder didn't say anything but instead moved his head so he was facing the far right vile. Heather saw this and quickly picked the vile up and held it upwards in front of the grounder. "This one?" He nodded slowly. Heather quickly passed the vile to Astrid.

"Thank you." Astrid said as she took the vile and she and Camicazi quickly left the room. Dagur placed his hand on Heather's shoulder but she quickly shook it off.

"Don't touch me." She snapped at him. Dagur quickly walked away from her, giving her room. Heather and the grounder looked at each other, no speaking a word.

 **xXx**

Astrid has just finished giving Hiccup the antidote. She and Camicazi where standing by his side. "How do we know if it works?" Camicazi asked.

"We'll know when he wakes up." Astrid told her. "He'll need water when he does. Do you mind...?" Astrid asked. Camicazi knew what she meant and nodded.

"Sure." Camicazi soon left and went upstair to get the water. Astrid watched her leave before turning her gaze on Hiccup. He was still sleeping. She then slowly began to have tears form in her eyes and began to sob. She leaned her head on his chest and began to cry.

"I can't do this without you." She told him. She sat up slightly and leaned her forhead on his. She gave him a small his on the forhead while still having tears fall down her face.

"Hello? Astrid? Astrid, can you hear me?" It was Ingrid.

"I'm here." Astrid replied.

"Oh thank Thor. The storm is passing. How's Hiccup doing?" Ingrid asked.

"I think he'll be okay." She told her mother.

"Well that's thanks to you, sweetheart." Ingrid said. "I'm so proud of you. Finn would be so proud of you, too." Astrid smiled.

"You think so?" Astrid asked. Ingrid nodded.

"I know so." Astrid smiled more before looking down at Hiccup once again.

 **xXx**

Heather was up stairs with the grounder, cleaning the wounds his brother had caused him. She carefully wiped the wounds with the cloth. "I'm so sorry." She told him. "You saved my life and look at the thanks you get. I never wanted any of this to happen to you." As she began to clean the blood of his hands he fingers slowly curled round her own. She stopped her movement and looked over to him. In a low and cracked voice he spoke.

"Thank you." He told her. Heather looked at him with amazment. He spoke. He spoke English.

"Hey." Tuffnut said from the otherside of the room. Heather quickly snapped out of her gaze and carried on cleaning. "He just say something?"

"No." Heather told him.

"You know your brother doesn't want you up here, Heather." Tuffnut told her. "Let's go." Heather sighed before turning around and walking over to the ladder. She and the grounder stared at each other for a few more seconds before breaking the contact and climbing down the ladder.

 **xXx**

Astrid sat next to Hiccup, not leaving his side, with her head in her hands. She then heard slight movement. She looked up to see Hiccup's eyes slowly opening.

"Hey." He said. Astrid let out a shaky sigh before quickly standing up and leaning over him.

"Hey." She said to him. He was smiling.

"Good save." He told her. She laughed slightly.

"It wasn't just me." She told him. He gave her a confusing look. "My mom helped."

"Your mom, how?" He asked. She ran her hands through his hair.

"I'll explain it all soon," She told him, "just get your rest." Hiccup nodded before closing his eyes again, letting sleep over take him. Astrid sighed before placing her head on the table, letting her body relax for the first time in hours.

 **xXx**

On the Ark inside of the council meeting room Stoick and the council were all sitting round the table. "The good news is that we are going to the ground." Stoick announced. "The bad news is not all of us are." Everyone but Gobber looked at him with confusion.

"It's a problem we were supposed to have 100 years to fix." Gobber told them.

"What problem?" Ingrid asked.

"There are 2,237 people on this ark and there are only enough drop ships to carry 700." Stoick told them. "We are on a sinking ship, and there aren't enough lifeboats."


	8. Author's Note

**Hello everyone!**

 **Now I had always hoped I would never have to post a note like this but I have now got a job as a teacher at a nursery. This means more working, less writing. Unfortunately I will now be having to update very slowly now as I will be arriving home at 6pm and leaving for work at 8am.**

 **Please know that I will not leave this story, but I will be updating very slowly.**

 **An till next time,**

 **Singstar234**


	9. Day Trip

Dagur sat upstairs in the drop ship, watching the grounder as he tried to sleep. He was still tied up in the X shape, standing up. Dagur stared at the grounder, sitting on a seat in silence. Then the sound of the door being opened was heard. Dagur didn't turn to see who it was as he already knew.

"Did you talk to the Ark?" Dagur asked.

"I told Digg's mom the news," Snotlout told him as he walked over to Dagur, "John's dad. I'm supposed to talk to Roman's parents later. Also talked to Fishlegs' mum, told her what happened."

"Did you mention the part where Savage went to kill him?" Dagur asked.

"No, I know that woman." Snotlout told him. "Nice a sweet when you meet her, but get on the wrong side of her and," Snotlout couldn't finish before he let his body shiver.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean." Dagur told him. Snotlout sighed before turning his head to the grounder.

"Telling all these parents that their kids were murdered by grounders, I just wish I could say we were getting some justice." Snotlout told him.

"We're not killing him." Dagur said with a firm voice. Snotlout bit his lip, trying to keep himself from yelling at Dagur, telling him that this grounder nearly killed his cousin. Wanting to know how he could think about keeping the grounder alive. Snotlout turned to the grounder again.

"You were a lot scarier when you had that face paint on." And with that he left the room.

 **xXx**

"Tell me about the grounder." Stoick said as he face Astrid. They had been able to get a camera set up so the could now speak to the Ark face to face. Right now he was not the only one listening. The whole council were listening to Astrid. "Can he provide any insight on how to survive winter?"

"We're doing everything we can to prepare here." Astrid told him. "We're gathering nuts and berries, curing meats, digging for roots, but the truth is, we'll freeze before we starve."

"There's good news on that front." Spitelout said as he looked at a piece of paper in front of him. "According to civil defence plans from before the war, there's an old emergency aid depot not far from the landing site. Here are the coordinates." He said as he held up a small map to the screen. Astrid then began to take it down.

"In addition to supplies, it could provide shelter for the 100 and for the citizens coming down from the Ark." Stoick said.

"And what makes you think it's intact?" Astrid asked.

"It was designed to withstand nuclear warfare." Spitelout told her.

"All right. It's worth a shot." Astrid told them.

"I'd like a moment with Astrid alone, please," Stoick told the coucil, "and I know there's a line of parents waiting to talk to their kids." Soon everyone had left and it was just Stoick and Astrid.

"Astrid, how is Hiccup?" Stoick asked. Astrid sighed.

"He's fine. The stitches are still intact and he's bedridden at the moment." Astrid explained.

"When can I talk to him?" He asked.

"Sir, Hiccup has told me that he doesn't want to talk to you at the moment." Astrid told him. "I think he's just going through a bit of a ruff time at the moment and he needs healing."

"Can you just tell him that I miss him, and I really want to talk to him." Astrid nodded.

"Of course sir." Astrid told him. "So who's next?"

 **xXx**

Astrid soon left the drop ship with a piece of paper in her hand, looking for the next prisoner to speak to their parents. "Dax." Astrid then walked over to Ruffnut and Tuffnut who were eating and organising the food. "Hey, you guys seen Dax?"

"Over there on the meat crew." Ruffnut told her. She nodded before walking over to the meat section. She then saw a familiar face. He had a hood over his head but his face still stood out. "Dax you're up." He looked up to her. He then passed the meat he was sorting over to his friend before walking into the tent. He sat down on the seat and placed the headset on, after taking his hood off. Just then someone walked into the screen on the other side. It was not his mother but a guard, though he wore a hospital gown. It was Jaha.

"Where's my mom?" Dax asked.

"You can see her after you and I have a little talk." Jaha told him. "Are you alone?"

"Yeah. Why?" He asked.

"If I remember right, you beat a man to death." Jaha said.

"He stole from me." Dax pointed out to him.

"Relax." Jaha told him. "I have a problem, and I think you can help me fix it, and in return, I can guarantee your mom a spot on the first drop ship and for you a choice assignment when I get to the ground."

"What do you want me to do?" Dax asked.

"Kill Dagur."

 **xXx**

Dagur climbed down the ladder to the bottom floor. Though once his feet met the ground he saw his sister sitting in one of the chairs next to the ladder. "You're still here?"

"I'm not moving until you let me up there to see him." Heather told him.

"Get comfortable." Dagur told her. Just as he went to walk away he quickly began speaking again. "I let him live. Isn't that enough?"

"He saved my life and yours." Heather told him.

"I know you see it that way, but-" Dagur began to say but Heather cut him off.

"That's the only way it is." She finished.

"He's still dangerous." Dagur told her.

"Only because of what you did." Heather pointed out.

"Whatever twisted connection you think you have with that animal, forget it. You don't get to see him. End of conversation." He then began to walk out but Heather quickly began speaking again.

"Why do you even care if I ruined your life? You should want me to go up there. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll kill me, problem solved." Heather told him as she leaned back in her chair. Dagur sighed.

"Heather, you know I didn't mean that." Dagur told her. Astrid then walked into the drop ship.

"Dagur-" She began to say but Dagur cut her off.

"The answer is still no. I'm not talking to Stoick." He told her. Astrid lifted up her hand.

"Hey, relax. That's not why I'm here." She told him.

"What, then?" He asked.

"The Ark found some old records that show a supply depot not too far from here." She explained. Dagur began to look curious.

"What kind of supplies?" He asked.

"The kind that might give us a chance to live through winter." She told him. "I'm gonna go check it out. I could use backup."

"Why are you asking me?" He asked her.

"Well, because if I brought the twins I'm pretty sure there will be hell to pay, Camicazi isn't leaving Hiccup's side and Fishlegs doesn't want to leave the camp, Snotlout is practically you second man and Heather is refusing to move." Astrid told him as she looked over to Heather and then back to him. Dagur rolled his eyes.

"I'll get my stuff, meet you in 10." Astrid nodded before walking out of the drop ship. Dagur looked over to his sister one last time before also leaving.

Outside of the drop ship everyone was doing their part. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were cracking open nuts, though they wanted to do something more gross.

"What do you think they're gonna do with the grounder?" Ruffnut asked her brother.

"I'd rather not think about it." He told her.

"Well, it's been days since Dagur captured him. How long till his friends come looking?" She said as she cracked another nut open. Tuffnut gave his sister a wack on the arm.

"Cheer up, sis. In that time, we'll all be dead from hypothermia." He told her. Ruffnut laughed. He then took a nut and held it up Ruffnut opened her mouth and he threw it straight in. They laughed and high-five each other.

 **xXx**

Inside the tent were Hiccup was staying Astrid had just walked in to check up on him. He was still lying down, though now he had a green shirt on to help keep him warm. "Hey. How are you feeling?" Hiccup sighed.

"Weak, bored, but grateful to be alive." He told her as she checked his stitches.

"Well, if you want to stay that way, you should rest." Astrid told him.

"I'll tie him down if I have to." Camicazi told her with a laugh.

"Wouldn't be the first time she's done it." Hiccup pointed out. Camicazi laughed even more while Astrid had a small smirk on her face.

"I'm gonna be out of camp today." Astrid told them. "Can you change his bandages in a few hours?" She asked Camicazi as she turned to face her.

"Wait. Where are you going?" He asked in a worried tone.

"It's a little assignment from the Ark." She told him as she began to place another bandage on him. "It's nothing to worry about."

"You mean an assignment from my dad." Hiccup corrected. Astrid didn't say anything. Hiccup shook his head. "I knew it."

"Hiccup." Astrid said to him, though he didn't look at her. "I'm not doing this because your dad said so. I'm doing this so we can survive the winter."

"It's not safe out there." He told her.

"Hiccup," Camicazi said to him, "Astrid is a big girl. She can take care of herself." Hiccup sighed.

"He say's he misses you." Astrid told him as she pulled his shirt back down. Hiccup laughed slightly.

"And he didn't visit me once in prison." He told her. Astrid and Camicazi didn't say a word.

"Astrid." She turned around to see Dagur pock his head through the tent. "Let's get a move on."

"Make sure he stays in bed." Astrid told Camicazi as she stood up.

"It sounds like a plan." Camicazi said. Astrid then leaned back down and gave Hiccup a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out. She walked over to Dagur who was taking a handful of rations and placing them in his backpack.

"That's a lot of rations. You realise this is a day trip." She told him.

"A lot can happen in a day." He told her. Astrid didn't say anything as she and Dagur made their way over to the gate. Dagur looked around the camp once more, seeing his sister come out of the drop ship, staring at him. He looked at her one last time before walking out of the camp. What people failed to see was Dax also walk out of the camp, with a knife in his top pocket.

 **xXx**

Inside of the drop ship Snotlout sat on the top level, keeping an eye on the grounder. He wanted so bad to beat the grounder to death but he had to keep himself restrained on Dagur's orders. He really didn't like that guy at some points.

"Hey, Snotlout," Snotlout heard from downstairs. It was one of the prisoners, Gustav. "Roman's parents are waiting for you on the radio." Snotlout climbed down the ladder and walked out of the drop ship, going to tell another parent their child is dead. What he failed to notice was Heather hiding in the shadows. Once he had left Heather quickly climbed up the ladder to the top.

"Hi." She greeted to the grounder, now out of breath. "We don't have a lot of time." She quickly walked over to him and held a bottle. "I brought you some water." She placed the bottle to his lips and he slowly drank from it. "It's good, right?" She said as she wiped the water that fell down his chin with her sleeve. "Sorry I haven't see you since everything happened." She told him as she gave him some more water.

"My brother has been keeping me away. He's a total half-troll, which you probably already figured out." The grounder let out a small laugh. Heather smirked before taking of her jacket. "You do understand me. I knew it. Well, at least let me get you cleaned up quick."

She slowly began to run a wet cloth over his body, cleaning up the dry blood and dirt. She slowly made it to his side were a wound sat on his skin. Heather stared at the wound with guilt. "This is all my fault because I freaked out so bad when you locked me up in that cave. You'd totally understand why if you knew how I grew up."

"My name is Eret." He told her in a weak voice. Heather stared at him in shock. He was speaking to her.

"Eret." She repeated. "I'm Heather." She told him. He looked down from her, became silent again. "Well, is that it? Is that all you're gonna say?"

"It's not safe for us to talk." He told her.

"Well, if we shouldn't talk, then why did you tell me your name?" She asked.

"I want you to remember me after I'm dead." He said in a weak voice. Heather shook her head.

"You're not gonna die. Don't say that." She told him.

"Heather, this only ends one way." He told her.

"Just talk to them. Tell them you're not the enemy." She said. Eret gave her a weak smile.

"I am." Before Heather could say anything else the door opened.

"Heather, get the hell out now." It was Snotlout. Heather turned to him.

"Dagur's not even here." Heather pointed out. Snotlout walked over to her.

"Get out, or he gets the beating I've been aching to give him." He said as he pointed to Eret.

"Okay, okay. I get it." Heather told him. She walked over and placed her jacket back on. "I'm gone."

 **xXx**

In the forest Astrid and Dagur walked passed leafless trees as they got closer to the deport. "You know the first drop ship is gonna come down soon." Astrid told Dagur. "Pretty sure you can't avoid Stoick forever."

"I can try." Dagur told her. They soon climbed a small hill and came across old ruins. There was a tall building still intacked, barley. Other builders that had fallen to the ground also surrounded the area, along with water.

"The depot is supposed to be around here, somewhere." Astrid said.

"There's got to be a door." Dagur said as he looked around. Astrid sighed.

"Maybe he'll be lenient." Astrid said.

"Look. I shot a guard, Astrid. He's not just gonna forgive and forget." Dagur told her. "Let's just split up, cover more ground. Stay within shouting distance." As they both split up from each other they failed to see Dax watching them from a distance.

 **xXx**

Back at the camp Camicazi was in a tent cleaning some of the cups and bottle's out when Heather walked in. She walked over to the bowl and began clean her bloody hands. Camicazi smirked. "I'd hate to see the other guy."

"You did, when you were torturing him." Heather pointed out.

"Hiccup was dying. I'm not gonna apologise for doing what I had to do." Camicazi told her before walking out of the tent with a cup of water in her hands. Camicazi soon entered another tent where Hiccup laid asleep. She placed the cup on the table and took of her red jacket. Hiccup began to stir and opened his eyes slightly.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She said back. She then picked up the cup and sat next to him.

"Thirsty?" He nodded before sitting up slightly. She placed the cup to his lips and he began to gladly take the water into his throat. Then a little bit of the water slipped last his lips and onto his neck. Camicazi took the cup away from his lips and placed it on the table. "Let me get that." She said as she took a cloth and wiped the water away.

"Thanks." He said to her. She laughed slightly.

"Its the least I can do." She told him. "We always took turns taking care of each other when we were sick."

"Hey, remember that time you told me to get you some soup and when I came back you had run off to see the meteor shower?" He asked her. She smiled while shaking her head.

"I can't believe you fell for that." She told him.

"You were always good at acting." He said to her.

"And you were always terrible." Camicazi said to him. "So, you and Astrid."

"What about it?" He asked her.

"When did this all start? Last time I heard she hated you." She pointed out.

"We talked. And plus, a lot of people hate me." He told her.

"Yeah but its not like you did anything to them." She told him.

"That is where you are wrong. I was born the son of a chief." He said. "So when ever someone they love gets floated they know who to come to, to blame."

"Its not fair." She whispered.

"Life's not fair." He told her.

 **xXx**

Astrid and Dagur carried on looking through the ruins. Astrid carried on looking by the hillside when she saw something silver. With her axe he began to cut away the branches and grass that covered it. It soon appeared to be a door.

"Dagur." She called out. Dagur peaked over the hill. "Over here. I found a door." He soon made his way down to see Astrid trying to open the door with her hands. "I think it's rusted shut."

"Here." He said as he pushed her slightly. "Watch your foot." he then took her axe and slammed it onto the door handle. He was quickly able to pry the door open. "Give me a hand." He said as he and Astrid quickly began to pull the door towards them, opening it. Once open they saw it was a set of stairs.

Astrid walked down the stairs first, Dagur following close behind. She took of her backpack and took out two flashlights. "Here." She said as she passed the flashlight over to Dagur.

"Really think this place hasn't been touched since the war?" He asked as he looked around.

"A girl can dream. Come on." She told him before making her way through the dark hallway. They both soon found themselves climbing down more stairs. Astrid looked down to her right to see a skeleton covered in webs.

"Hell of a place to die." Dagur commented.

"So much for living down here." Astrid said as she looked around more. "This place is disgusting. Damn it."

"Anything left down here is ruined." Dagur pointed out.

"They must have distributed most of the supplies before the last bombs went off." Astrid said. Dagur then walked over to a large box. He opened the lid and looked inside. Glow sticks. Astrid walked over to another box and opened the lid. "Hey, I found blankets."

"Excited about a couple of blankets?" Dagur asked as he took threw the glow stick back into the box.

"Well, it's something." She told him as she closed the lid.

"How about a canteen or a med kit or a decent tent?" Dagur snapped. He walked over to a metal barrel and opened it. It was just black water. Out of frustration he kicked the barrel over. Astrid turned around, hearing the banging and water splashing. But then another noise was heard. A clicking. Dagur walked over to the barrel and saw what had poured out of it. Not just water. "Oh my Thor."

"What?" Astrid asked as she walked over to him. Dagur the lifted up a machine gun. Astrid stared at it in shock before looking down. There was more than just guns down there.

 **xXx**

"Earth is scary." Fishlegs said as he walked into the tent the Twins were sitting in. There were both staring into space.

"No. It's amazing." Tuffnut told him, but not looking at him. "Fresh air, trees, nuts." He said as he placed a nut in his mouth. Ruffnut laughed.

"Nut. Haha, that's our name." She said as she carried on laughing.

"These taste better than usual, right?" Tuffnut said to his sister, but she kept on laughing. "Oh, I'd like to give earth a giant hug." He said as he laid down.

"Yeah, if we were a giant." She said before laughing again. Fishlegs stared at the pair.

"You both are acting weird." He told them

"I feel weird, but in a good way." Tuffnut told him.

"I'm gonna pee." Fishlegs commented before walking out of the tent. Fishlegs walked over to the corner of the fence and began to do his business. He looked through a small hole in the fence to see someone run by. Fishlegs looked shocked to this and quickly did his pants back up. Suddenly another person quickly rushed past. Fishlegs quickly shook his head, believing it was just his imagination. He slowly leaned closer to the hole just to check when suddenly and black hand shot out towards him. Fishlegs screamed and fell back, only to see the hand had disappeared. He quickly got back up and began to run.

Heather was sitting my herself, sewing clothes, when she heard her name be called out. "Heather?" Fishlegs quickly rushed over to her shaking slightly. This brought concern to her. "Heather I think I'm going crazy, or the grounders are here, or I'm going crazy, or-" He whispered, but slowly grew louder.

"Okay. Just slow down." Heather told him. She quickly placed the clothes down and placed her hands on his arms. "Just tell me what you saw." Fishlegs looked away from her to see a grounder in the camp staring at him.

"Him." He whispered as he pointed to the grounder. Heather looked over to the open air.

"Fishlegs, there's no one there." Heather told him.

"He's right there!" He yelled. Everyone began to look over to the pair. "We have to run. We have to run." He told her. "Why isn't anyone doing any-"

"Stop it. Shut up. Fishlegs, are you on something?" Heather asked him.

"I love you, and I just want you to know this." He told her "We're all gonna die soon, okay? I love you." He then went to place a nut in his mouth but Heather stopped him and took it into her hand.

"Is this all you've eaten today?" She asked him.

"It is, but who cares now? It's-" He told her as he began to cry slightly. Heather then realised.

"You're totally bombed." She said. "Relax." She then knelt down and picked up a long thick stick. "Here, buddy. Take this." She said as she placed it in his hands.

"It's a stick." He pointed out.

"No. This is an anti-grounder stick." She told him. "So as long as you hold this and you sit right here, grounders won't be able to see you." She said as she sat him down on the ground. "See?"

"Yeah. Makes sense. I'll just stay right here." He said as he stared at the stick.

"Does make sense." She said. "Stay right there." She told him before walking off.

Heather made her way up the ladder onto the top floor where Eret was. She opened the door to bee greeted by Snotlout again. "Get out." He told her.

"Relax. I thought you might be hungry." She told him as she threw him a bag of nuts. "A peace offering. I shouldn't have come up here alone earlier. It was stupid and dangerous, and he's not worth it. I won't tell Dagur if you won't." And with the she climbed down the ladder.

 **xXx**

"This changes everything." Dagur said as he put up a blanket with a large X sprayed into it. "No more running from spears. Ready to be a bad-ass, Princess?" He asked as he placed a nut in is mouth.

"Look. I'm not gonna fight you on bringing guns back to camp." Astrid told him. "I know we need them, but don't expect me to like it." She said as she looked down at the gun in her hand.

"We're lucky the rifles were packed in grease. The fact that they survived means we're not sitting ducks anymore." He told her.

"I'm better we an axe." She told him.

"And when a grounder is up in a tree ready to throw a spear at you?" He asked. Astrid looked down, knowing he had a point. "You need to learn how to do this."

"So I just hold it on my shoulder?" She asked as she positioned the gun against her shoulder.

"Yeah, just a little higher now, that end." He said as he moved the gun into the right position on her.

"Like that?" She asked.

"Yep." He told her as he took a gun for himself. "Now, watch and learn." He aimed the gun and fired the shot. No bullet was fired. It only clicked. He looked at the gun with a confused look. He pulled back and got another bullet in place. He aimed and fired. Just another click.

"Still watching." Astrid told him

"My bullets are duds." He told her. "Try yours." Astrid stepped where Dagur was once standing and aimed the gun. She took a breath before firing. The bullet did not hit the X but it did hit the sheet. Astrid pulled the gun down and looked at the sheet.

"That was amazing." She then looked over to him. "Am I horrible for feeling that?" Dagur laughed.

"Try again." He told her.

"No. We shouldn't waste the ammunition." She told him.

"You need to practice." He said.

"No. We need to talk about how we're gonna keep guns around camp, where are we gonna keep them, and who has access." Astrid pointed out. Dagur didn't listen to her and aimed his gun and fired. The bullet hit the X on point. "You left Snotlout in charge of the grounder. You must trust him."

"You should keep him close." He told her. "The others listen to him." Astrid laughed slightly at what he had just said.

"Actually they listen to Hiccup more than Snotlout." Astrid pointed out to him.

"Well, Hiccup is in no place to lead people right now if you ask me." Dagur told her.

"And hey, what do you mean I should keep Snotlout close? He's not my boyfriend." Astrid snapped at him slightly.

"And what Hiccup is?" Dagur asked.

"Dagur, what's going on? You've been acting weird all day." She told him. "All the rations you took." She then realised it. "You're gonna run. That's why you agreed to come with me. You were gonna load up on supplies and just disappear."

"I don't have a choice." He told her. "The Ark will be here soon."

"So you're just gonna leave Heather?" She asked.

"Heather hates me. She'll be fine." Dagur told her.

"You don't know-"

"I shot a guard. A commander. They're gonna kill me, Astrid." He told her. "Best-case scenario, they lock me up with the grounder for the rest of my life, and there's no way in hell I'm giving Stoick the satisfaction." He took a breath. "Keep practising. I need some air." With that he left her alone.

 **xXx**

Dagur quickly got to the outside and began to breath heavily, trying to calm down. He placed his hands on his knees and looked down. Suddenly the sound of a twig snapping was heard. His head snapped up and he began to look around.

"Dagur." Dagur turned around to see Jaha standing a few feet away from him holding his gunshot wound. Dagur stood up.

"How are you here?" He asked in shock and confusion. "You're on the Ark."

"You shot me on the Ark, but I've been waiting for you." He then released his hand and let the blood fall from his body.

"I did what I had to do." Dagur told him.

"To protect Heather." Jaha said.

"That's right." Dagur said. Jaha then began to walk over to him.

"How pathetic, using your sister to justify your crimes, your cruelty, your selfishness?" Jaha said.

"If you're gonna kill me, just do it." Dagur told him.

"Why should I kill you?" Jaha asked. "Unlike the others, I survived your treachery."

"What are you talking about?" Dagur asked with confusion.

"The 320 souls that were culled from the Ark so that others could live." Jaha told him. "You knew that they would be sacrificed."

"The radio." Dagur muttered. "I didn't know that would happen."

"It's not my forgiveness you should seek." Jaha told him. "It's theirs." Dagur looked behind Jaha to see the 320 souls that were killed all walking towards him. Jaha walked over to him and whispered in his ear. "Murderer."

"Stop!" Dagur yelled before running off.

 **xXx**

Back at the camp everyone was going crazy. Some were dancing, some were just wondering around. A couple were even stripping, which was good luck for Heather cause she grabbed all the clothes she could carry. She quickly climbed up the ladder as quickly as she could and threw the clothes on the floor before rushing over to Eret.

"Don't move." She told him as she cut the rope that held his left arm in the air. Once undone Eret groaned in pain and fell slightly to his right. "We need to go now." She told him as she undone his feet and he did his other arm.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked.

"Just get dressed." She said as she helped him put a hoodie on.

"They'll know you helped me." Eret pointed out.

"You said it. You stay here, you'll die." Heather told him. "I'm not gonna let that happen."

"I'm not gonna put you in danger." He told her.

"We need to do this now." She said as she placed a jacked over the hoodie.

"Even in these clothes, I'll be seen." He told her.

"People are seeing plenty of things right now." She told him. "Up you get." She said as she helped him onto his feet. "Okay. Let's go."

"What'd you do?" Eret asked her.

"Set out some of our winter rations a little early." Heather told him.

"Jobi nuts." He said. "The food you gave my guard, they go bad, they cause visions, but it wears off."

"Just try to get as far away as you can okay," She told him as she did his jacket up, "and try not to get yourself killed." He nodded to her. As he went to climb down the ladder he quickly stopped. He turned back to her and placed his hands on her cheek, slowly leaned forward and placed his lips on her own. After a couple of seconds he pulled away. They stared into each others eyes for a few more seconds before he climbed down the ladder. Heather stood in shock as to what had just happened.

 **xXx**

Hiccup made his way outside of the tent, now having his brown jacket on. He hadn't see Camicazi for a couple of hours now and began to get a bit worried. Once outside he saw everything that was happening. People were laughing, crying, dancing, some just staring into space. He began to walk around to see if he could find Camicazi. Suddenly he Tuffnut ran over to him.

"Hey, have you seen the moon?" Tuffnut asked. Hiccup gave him a confusing look.

"Tuff, its still daylight." Hiccup pointed out.

"I can't change the tide if the moon won't cooperate." Tuffnut told him.

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked in confusion.

"It's basic physics." And with that Tuffnut ran off. Hiccup looked around in confusion. He carried on looking around the camp when he saw Eret trying to escape. Both of them locked eyes on each other. Hiccup nodded his head in the direction of the exit. Eret looked over and saw it was there. He then looked back over to Hiccup before running off.

"Brother!" Hiccup quickly turned around to see Camicazi running over to him.

"Cami." Hiccup said in relief. "What is going on?"

"Do you want to play tag?" She asked in a playful voice.

"Not you too." He groaned.

"Come one! Tag your it." Camicazi yelled before running away slightly.

"Wait, Cami!" Hiccup said as she grabbed her arm.

"Oh, you got me!" Camicazi wined. "I'm gonna get you back!" She yelled in a childish voice before going to wack him on the arm, only Hiccup quickly stopped her.

"No, no, wait. I have a better game we could play." He told her. Her eyes lit up.

"Really, what is it?" She asked. He then began to lead her back to his tent.

"It hide and seek." He told her.

"Yay!" She cheered. Once they were in the tent Hiccup sat her down on the bed.

"Now I'm going to hide and you count." He told her. Camicazi nodded.

"What to?" She asked.

"To 10 million." He told her. She nodded before placing her hands over her eyes and began to count. Hiccup sighed.

'So everyone was acting weird and all of the nuts are gone.' He began to think. 'So if the nuts are making everyone go crazy then that mean-' "Astrid." He whispered. He quickly took of out of the tent and ran to the exit. Just as he was about to pass he found Snotlout stripping. "Cover up, cuz." Hiccup said before taking off.

 **xXx**

Astrid aimed the gun at the X shape on the sheet. Just as she went to fire a voice spoke. "And here I thought I thought you wanted to battle with an axe." Astrid eye's widened at the voice. She slowly lowered the and turned around. She came face to face with a man in his 30's. He had blond hair and green eyes.

"Uncle Finn?" Astrid whispered in disbelief. Finn nodded with a smile. Astrid almost let out a laugh as she dropped the gun and ran over to him, giving him a crushing hug. Here arms wrapped round his neck with his arms wrapped round her waist. Astrid couldn't hold back the tears that formed in her eyes. "But how?" Finn laughed.

"Maybe because you needed some advise?" He guessed. Astrid then realised what was happening. She slowly let go of her uncle and looked up to him.

"Your not real, are you?" She said. Finn shook his head and gave her a sad smile.

"Sorry, warrior." He said her old nick-name. Astrid nodded before pulling away more and sitting down on one of the chairs. Finn followed her and knelt down in front of her. He placed a hand on her knee. "So, what do you want to talk about?" Astrid gave him a confusing look.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, there's a reason you wanted to see, so spill." He told her.

"I miss you, so much." She told him. He gave her another smile while rubbing her leg in comfort.

"Do you regret it?" He asked suddenly. Astrid shook her head.

"No, of course not." She told him.

"So you don't regret getting me killed?" He asked. Astrid suddenly began to get confused. This isn't her uncle speaking.

"What, no. Of course I regret you getting killed." She told him.

"Then why forgive Haddock?" He asked her. "I mean, he is a reason as to why I'm dead."

"No he's not." Astrid told him. "He fought to keep you alive."

"And yet he didn't stop the guard from pushing that button." Finn told her as he stood up. Astrid suddenly began to tremble. "I mean, he went against his father before. Though that was after I was killed so that doesn't really count."

"Stop it." Astrid whispered.

"But when you were in the drop ship you told him how much you hated him for getting me killed," He carried on saying, "though you say he fought to keep me alive."

"Please stop." Astrid whispered again.

"Tell me, Astrid, did you decide to forgive him before or after you started to get feeling for him?" Finn asked her now getting in her face slightly.

"Stop." She whispered.

"I mean, do you even love the boy who's father killed you only uncle?"

"Stop!" Astrid yelled as she covered her ears and closed her eyes. After a couple of seconds she opened them and saw nothing but open air. Finn was gone. "Uncle Finn?" She asked. Suddenly something came in contact with her head and she was knocked out.

 **xXx**

"Murderer. Murderer." These words were repeated over and over again by the 320 souls. Dagur was rushing through the woods. The souls continued to torture him through their words. Dagur soon found himself falling to the ground, surrounded by the souls. He then felt a tap on his shoulder. Dagur turned around to see Jaha staring down at him.

"Please kill me." Dagur begged. "Kill me! I deserve it. Please." Jaha then back handed him, causing Dagur to fly across the floor. Dagur slowly sat back up again. "I can't fight anymore."

"Don't you know? Life is a fight." Jaha told him before kicking him in the stomach. Dagur groaned as he flew across the ground floor again. The 320 crept closer towards him.

"What am I supposed to do?" Dagur asked.

"Live, breathe, suffer." Jaha told him. "You owe them that. You want the peace of death. You're gonna have to earn it." Jaha then began to hit him once again. "Fight back! Do you think you deserve to be free of your pain? Do you deserve that gift? Because you're gonna get it." Jaha then punched Dagur one last time before he finally snapped out of it. Dagur was now lying on his back facing Dax, with a gun pointing to him.

"Nothing personal." Dax told him. As Dax went to fire the shot only a clicking notice was heard. The bullet didn't work. This gave Dagur enough time to grab his own gun and point it to Dax, who had just reloaded the gun. Dagur then saw the gun wasn't in his hand. He had imagined it.

"Put it down, Dax." Dax quickly turned around and faced Astrid, who also had a gun pointing to him.

"Should've stayed down there, Astrid." Dax told her. "I tried not to kill you, but here you are, and Jaha said no witnesses."

"What is he talking about?" Astrid asked in confusion.

"Jaha set it up." Dagur told her. "He gave me the gun to shoot the chief."

"What?" Astrid said in shock.

"And yet you shot him instead." Dax pointed out. "Walk away now, and I won't kill you." Dax said to Astrid.

"Put, it down, now." Astrid told him in a firm voice.

"Your choice." Dax told her. Astrid then went to shoot the gun, only in made a clicking noise. Her bullets were dead. Dax then raised the gun slightly and began to shoot. Astrid quickly took cover behind a tree. Dagur quickly stood up and wrestled Dax to the ground. Dax was able to punch him. He was able to throw Dagur to the ground and use the gun to suffocate him.

"Get the hell off him!" Astrid yelled as she ran over to him, but Dax just used the gun to punch her in the face, causing her to fall back unconscious. Just as Dagur was about to pass out from lack of oxygent two arms found their way around Dax's neck, bring him away from Dagur and onto the floor. Dagur began to cough and the oxygent got back into his lungs. He then sat up and saw who had saved him.

"Hiccup." Dagur whispered. Hiccup kept a hold on him around then neck, when Dax suddenly elbowed him in the stomach. This caused Hiccup's grip to weaken. Dax was able to get free and turn the tables. He was now on top of Hiccup strangling him. Hiccup tried to push in away but it wasn't working. Just then Dax's grip loosened. There was blood dripping from his mouth. Hiccup pushed Dax of himself and got a look at to what had happened. There was a bullet in his neck, and Dagur was standing behind him. Dagur stabbed him with a bullet.

"Hiccup?" Hiccup turned to his right to see Astrid walking over to him. He sat up against the tree behind him. "Are you okay?" She asked Hiccup nodded before turning to Dagur who was now sitting next to Hiccup against the tree.

"You're okay?" Hiccup asked him.

"No, I'm not." Dagur told him. "My mother, if she knew what I've done, who I am. She raised me to be better, to be good and all I do is hurt people. I'm a monster."

"Hey." Astrid said as she leaned over Hiccup. "You may be a total ass half the time, but we all need you. None of us would've survived this place if it wasn't for you."

"If forgiveness is what you are looking for, I'll give it to you. You're forgiven, okay, but you can't run, Dagur. You have to come back with us." Hiccup told him. "You have to face it."

"Like you faced your father?" Dagur asked. Hiccup nodded and looked down.

"You're right. I don't want to face my dad." Hiccup told him. "I don't want to face any of it. All I think about every day is how we're gonna keep everyone alive, but we don't have a choice."

"Stoick will kill me when he comes down." Dagur told him. Hiccup shook his head.

"We'll figure something out." Hiccup told him. Dagur looked away from him and up in the sky, leaning more against the tree.

"Can we figure it out later?" Dagur asked. Hiccup sighed before leaning back against the tree and relaxing. Astrid did the same.

"Whenever you're ready." Hiccup told him. Hiccup looked over to Astrid, who was looking up at the sky, and went to place his hand round her's but she quickly pulled away. Hiccup became confused by this action but decided not to push it.

 **xXx**

At the camp everyone was back to their normal selves. Well mostly everyone. Fishlegs was still sitting in the seat Heather gave him, holding the stick. Though he was now asleep.

"Rough night?" Tuffnut asked as he walked over to Heather.

"Yeah. My head is killing me." Heather pretended as she placed her hand on her head. "You?"

"I'm pretty sure I ate a pine cone because it told me to." Tuffnut told her. Heather laughed.

"Hey, where's Ruffnut?" Heather asked.

"Getting changed." Tuffnut told her. Heather looked at him with confusion.

"What?"

"I saw too much off my sister tonight." Heather laughed again a little harder.

"He's gone." Snotlout yelled as he exited the drop ship, thankfully fully clothed. The prisoners rushed over tot the drop ship in shock. "The grounder is gone."

"What if he brings other grounders back?" Gustav asked. "He'll kill us all."

"Or worse." Ruffnut said. Everyone slowly began to panic.

"Let the grounders come." Everyone turned around to see Dagur, Astrid and Hiccup walking over to them. Astrid and Dagur each carrying a big bag while Hiccup carried Astrid's axe and held onto his side. "We've been afraid of them for far too long, and why? Because of their knives and spears." Dagur told them. "I don't know about you. I'm tired of being afraid." The three of them then dropped the bags and opened them, reliving the guns, riffles and machine guns. All the prisoners looked at them in shock.

"Ho ho ho! No way." They all said.

"These are weapons, okay, not toys, and we have to be prepared to give them up to the guard when the drop ships come, but until then, they're gonna help keep us safe." Astrid told them.

"And there are plenty more where these came from." Hiccup told them. "Tomorrow we start training, and if the grounders come, we're gonna be ready to fight."

Soon everyone walked away doing their own thing once again. Heather was standing at the wall looking out into the forest. Dagur walked over to her with a blanket. He placed hit over her shoulders. Heather quickly turned around and saw her brother. She didn't speak but wrapped the blanket round herself more before turning away from him again.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but you'll have to find a way to live with me because I'm not going anywhere." He told her.

"Dagur." Dagur and Heather turned around to see Astrid standing a couple of feet away from them. "It's time." Dagur nodded and began to make his way over to her. He then stopped and faced his sister again.

"That grounder escaping, was that you?" He asked.

"I had nothing to do with it." She told him without facing him. Dagur wasn't sure to believe her or not but decided not to push it. He carried on making his way over to Astrid. "Thanks for the blanket." Dagur stopped and turned to his sister. She didn't look at him again. When Dagur and Astrid were about to enter the tent Hiccup quickly walked over to them.

"Do you have a headset for 3?" He asked. Astrid gave him a shocked look.

"Hiccup, what are you doing get back into bed." Astrid ordered him. Hiccup shook his head.

"Not an till I see him." Hiccup told her.

"You sure?" She asked.

"I can't run forever." He told her. Astrid nodded to him before the three of them entered the tent. They sat down in front to the screen and placed their head set on. When Stoick appeared on the screen he had a shock look.

"Son," he said, "what are-"

"Where here to talk about Dagur, not me." Hiccup told him. Stoick nodded.

"Right." He said. "Dagur. I've wanted to talk to you for some time now."

"Before you do, I'd like to say something." Astrid said. "When you sent us down here, you sent us to die, but miraculously, most of us are still alive. In large part, that is because of him."

"He's one of us, and he deserves to be pardoned of his crimes just like the rest of us." Hiccup told his father.

"Children, I appreciate your point of view, but it's not that simple." Stoick told them.

"It is if you want to know who on the Ark wants you dead." Hiccup looked over at Dagur with a shocked face, as did Stoick but only slightly. He sat there is silents thinking about his options. He the leaned forward.

"Dagur Blake, you're pardoned for your crimes." Stoick announced. Dagur sighed in relief, as did Hiccup. "Now tell me, who gave you the gun."

 **xXx**

Up in the Ark Spitelout and two guards marched into the hospital where Jaha was standing looking at his data pad. He looked up and saw the four guards. Two with Spitelout and two opposite him. The two guards behind Spitelout took out their tazers just in case he made a escape. The two guards opposite Spitelout took hold of Jaha and arrested him.

"You're a disgrace." Spitelout told him.

"I'm fighting for what I believe in, just like you." Jaha said.

"What, exactly, is that?" Jaha smirked. Spitelout gave the nodded for the guards to take the ex-commander away.

 **xXx**

Astrid walked inside Hiccup's tent. He was now laying back in bed under strict orders not to get out. He had already taken a yelling from Camicazi for leaving the camp, though she did tell him that if he wasn't hurt she would a beaten him.

"Where's Cami?" Astrid asked as she knelt down.

"Stepped out to do her business." Hiccup told her. Astrid sighed.

"I need to check this." She said as she lifted his shirt up. She then undone the bandage and saw some blood. Astrid sighed before grabbing a bowl of water on the side and a cloth. "Your lucky the stitches didn't rip." She told him as she cleaned his wound from the blood.

"So when can I get out-"

"What were you thinking, Hiccup?" She asked in an angry tone. Hiccup sighed.

"I needed to make sure you were okay." He told her.

"That's no excuse." She told him.

"Hey, look I'm sorry if me worrying that you might do something crazy because of those weird nuts is against the law but I did what I had to do." He told her.

"Yeah, and nearly get yourself killed." She muttered as she placed a new bandage over his wound and pulled his shirt back down.

"Okay, what is going on with you? You've been acting weird ever since I found you and Dagur." He said. Astrid shook her head.

"I'm fine." She told him while she sorted the bowl and cloths out.

"Astrid-"

"I said I'm fine." She snapped before storming out of the tent. She stormed past Camicazi who now had a confusing look on her face. She walked back into Hiccup's tent and saw him looking annoyed. She decided not to say anything and just sat there with him.

 **xXx**

Inside a cell Jaha paced back and forth. He then headed his cell door open. He looked up and saw his visitor. "Thank Thor it's you. I thought I was about to float." Mildew smiled as he and another guard walked inside.

"It won't come to that, Commander." He told him. The guard then walked over and opened his tazer.

"Wait. What's going on?" He asked in fear. "I did what you asked me-" He was suddenly tazed and fell to the floor unconscious. The guard then walked over to one of the lamp lights and broke it. He took the broken glass and slit Jaha's wrists. Mildew watched as the scene happened.


	10. Unity Day

"My friends, this is an historic Unity Day." Stoick announced. On the ground prisoners stood around the small TV screen listening to Stoick's speech while some others wondered around out side. "Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the 12 stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground." The sky people claps could be heard through the speaker.

"Right, after we did all the work." Gustav pointed out. "Someone shut him up."

"You shut up, Gustav." Astrid told him. "No one's forcing you to watch."

Hiccup stood outside the drop ship listening to his father's speech. He still hadn't talked to his father yet after facing him, nor has Astrid. He keeps on think about what he could have done to upset her, but he was just not sure.

"Don't tell me you don't like Unity Day." Hiccup turned around to see Heather exiting the drop ship.

"Unity Day is a lie." Hiccup told her. "The Ark only came together after the 13th Station was blown out of the sky. Just not the version of history we like to tell each other at parties."

"The Unity Day story gives people hope though, and peace came out of that violence." Heather pointed out.

"Yeah, but did there need to be violence at all?" He asked. Heather shrugged. They both looked back over to the small group watching the broadcast. Heather's eyes landed on Dagur who looked over to her, causing her to look at the ground. "How are you and Dagur?"

"Okay, we haven't really talked that much, but it doesn't really change what he said to me." She told him. "I don't know if I can really forgive him for it."

"You can only try." He told her. She nodded as she carried on looking down at the ground. She then sighed and looked up at him. "What about you and Astrid?" Hiccup also sighed and looked over to the group where Astrid was standing looking at the screen.

"We haven't talked much either. I don't know what happened to cause this." He told her.

"Did you do something?" Heather asked him. He shook his head.

"No, I don't think I did anyway." He said. Astrid looked away from the screen and over to Hiccup, who was looking at her. Their eyes stayed connected for a few seconds before she broke the connection. Hiccup sighed.

"Whoo! Yeah!" Everyone looked over to see Tuffnut and Ruffnut walking out of a tent with a large container in their arms. "The Twins strikes again!" They then ran into the middle of the camp, everyone now running and gathering around him. "Hey! Call this batch Unity juice! Who's thirsty?" He began to pour the alcohol into the cups. "There you go."

"Hey. Save me some." A guard said as he went to join the group. Heather and Hiccup slowly walked towards the group, though Heather walked quicker but not to the group but to the gate. She looked to see if anyone was watching before quickly sliding out of the gate. Hiccup had a idea as to where she was going. His attention soon when back to the screen, though he was now most likely the only one watching.

"Happy Unity Day." Stoick said. "To our sons and daughters on earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under 60 hours, carrying you the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way."

Everyone in the room of the Ark clapped at the end of the speech. Ingrid was standing against a wall clapping to the speech. "Hello, Ingrid." Ingrid turned around to face a old face. She turned her face away from his and back to Stoick.

"Mildew." She greeted to the old man.

"We have seen the true soul of our people. But enough from me. You are all here for the pageant anyway, right?" Everyone began to laugh slightly.

"He's cutting his remarks short." Mildew muttered, though Ingrid did not hear him but did hear him say something and turned to him.

"What's that?" She asked. Mildew looked up to her. He shook his head.

"Nothing." He said before walking off.

"Without further ado, I present the story of us." Stoick said as he pointed to in front of him. Everyone began to move around for the children to get into their places. A single child stood in the middle of the room while other stood around her in a circle each holding a flag. Music began to play in the back ground and the 13 children began to move around in a circle.

"Long ago when the earth was on fire, 12 stations floated through space all alone." The young girl announced. "Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realised life would be better together. The other stations saw this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were joined, they called themselves-"

A sudden explosion hits the room. Bodies where thrown across the room while others threw themselves to the floor for cover. Everyone's ears began to ring. People were laying flat on the floor, some now that have over come the trauma are walking around trying to help everyone. Stoick sat with the young girl who was dirty and blood and crying. "Daddy?"

"I'll go and find and your daddy." He told her. Before he moved to stand up Ingrid quickly rushed over to him with her medical bag.

"Stoick, are you okay?" She asked him. He nodded to her, though Ingrid did not believe him from the blood that was dripping down the side of his face. She called out to the neared medic. "Get him to medical now!"

"Spitelout!" He shouted. Spitelout, who was with an injured woman, looked up to him. "Find out who did this!" He ordered. Spitelout didn't answer but instead quickly rushed over to him and helped him up.

"We need to get you out of here." He told his half brother. Both him and Stoick began to walk away from the crowed of people before stopping by the corner of the room.

"This was a coup." Spitelout told him. "Reps Cole, Kaplan, Muir, and Fuji are dead."

"Where's Rep Mildew?" Stoick asked as he looked round the room. Ingrid who was tending to a wounded man looked over to him.

"He left before the blast." She told him. Stoick narrowed his eyes.

"I'll find him." Spitelout told him. Before he could run Stoick quickly stopped him.

"You do that, and double the guard at the drop ship." Stoick told him. "I'm putting The Ark on lock-down!" Stoick yelled to the room so everyone could hear. Spitelout then ran of to fine Mildew. "We are not missing that launch window."

Somewhere in the Ark a guardsmen was running down the hallways before turning a corner where Mildew was standing along with an engineer worker.

"They suspect it was you." The guard told him. "The way I see it, we got two choices: stay and fight, in which case maybe we win if we can get enough workers to join us."

"And if we don't, what's the second choice?" The engineer asked.

"Take the Exodus ship now." Mildew told him.

"It's not ready." The engineer told him.

"Can our engineers get it ready?" Mildew asked.

"To charge the batteries on a ship that size without causing a disruption to the Ark takes time." The engineer told him.

"Then cause disruptions." The guard told him.

"It'll get cold." The engineer pointed out. "With the lock-down, even they find a way to isolate the lesser populated stations, people will die."

"So there's casualties either way." The guard said.

"Take the Exodus ship." Mildew told him before he began to walk away. "We should have built a bigger bomb."

 **xXx**

It was later in the evening. The prisoners were enjoying the Unity Day with drinks and laughter. Astrid was standing on the sidelines on guard duty. She watched as everyone was having fun. Hiccup, who had just exited the drop ship, looked over to Astrid who was watching the crowed. He slowly made his way over to her.

"Hey." He greeted. Astrid looked over to him. "The comms are still dead. They cut out during the pageant. If you ask me best Unity Day ever."

"Do you really think now is a good time to be having a party?" Astrid asked him while looking at the crowed in front of her. "I mean, the grounder is out there."

"Grounders." Hiccup corrected. "By now, he's made it home. He's probably putting together a lynch mob."

"Relax." Astrid told him. "I got security covered."

"You don't have to have it covered though." Hiccup pointed out. Astrid looked over to him with a confused look. "Why don't you go get a drink? You look like you could use one."

"I could use more than one." Astrid muttered.

"Then have one for me." Hiccup told her. Astrid lips formed a small smile. "Astrid, the Exodus ship carrying your mother comes down here in two days. After that, the party's over. Have some fun while you still can. You deserve it." Astrid looked at him with a face showing she wanted to argue back but deep inside she really did want to do more than just stand around doing nothing.

"Okay." She whispered before taking the gun strap of her and handed the gun over to Hiccup. "So do you by the way." Hiccup smiled.

"I'll be right over." He told her. "I need to talk to Dagur first." Astrid nodded before walking off. Hiccup sighed before quickly making his way round the wall and over to the gate where he quickly sneaked out.

 **xXx**

Heather was running through the dark forest, hoping to find something that will lead her to the grounder. She kept her speed before stopping, seeing a pure while flower sitting on a bush. She walked over to it and picked it up. It had been picked. Heather smiled before quickly running in the direction she found it. She soon found two more on bushes before finding another one on the ground. Heather walked over to it and knelt down. She smirked as she placed the other three flowers with it. She then crawled her way into the entrance of the grounders cave.

As she made her was through the cave she soon saw Eret, with his back towards her, painting the walls. She took a knife from her the back of her trousers and held it up. She slowly made her way towards the grounder, hoping not to make any noise. Just as she came behind him Eret quickly turned around, grabbing her arm and lifting it over her head and using his other arm to hold her round the waist. What he failed to do was to capture the knife that was held pointed up on his throat.

"Better?" Heather asked him. Eret looked down at the knife that was sticking up at his throat. He smirked before looking at her.

"We'll make a warrior out of you yet." He told her. Heather smiled before dropping both knife and kissing him. Eret moved his arm from her own and placed it on the back of her head. They carried on the kiss as Eret took of Heather's jacket. Heather smiled through the kiss as she did the same with Eret's jack and top. Eret placed his hands on her legs and lifted her up. He carried her over to his make-shift bed with anime coats laying on it for cover.

He laid her down and hovered over her, kissing her lips and neck. Heather closed her eyes as Eret did his actions. As he made his way back to her lips Heather quickly changed positions so she was now hovering over him. She sat up and pulled her top over her head. She threw the top away from them and stared down at Eret. He looked deep into her eyes as she lead down and began to kiss him once again.

 **xXx**

On the Ark a few guardsmen were wondering the Exodus ship, making sure no one was hiding on it. A guardsmen waled down the stairs and over to Spitelout, who was wondering around in circles waiting for a report.

"Sir, the drop ship's clear." The guardsmen told him. "We did a full security sweep."

"Okay, boys and girls." Another guardsmen announced. "Play time's over. Back to work. Let's get this ship ready to launch." Ingrid, who was standing by watching everyone as they began to leave or get the ship ready, walked over to Spitelout who was about to walk out.

"I should be in medical, not packing first-aid supplies." She told him.

"The injured have been taken care of." he told her. He then paused before thinking of what he should say next. "And we can do nothing for the dead."

"This launch should be delayed," Mildew yelled as he walked into the drop ship, "at least until you've questioned the terrorist that set that bomb."

"I put word out to my people and just heard back." A guardsmen said as he walked into the room behind Mildew, the same who helped warn her. "His name is Cuyler Ridley. He's a mechanic who lost his wife in the culling." He told them as he got a picture up of the man on a small computer. Spitelout took the computer and looked at the picture.

"Yeah. I recognise him." Spitelout told her as he handed the picture back to him. Ingrid, who was standing by listening, began to speak.

"So what makes you think he did it?" She asked out of curiosity.

"He turned himself in." He told her. Ingrid nodded as she bit her lip, not sure whether to believe him or not. She then walked over to Mildew.

"Where have you been, Mildew? Why did you leave the pageant early?" She asked

"Well, thank Thor I did, or I'd be dead right now." He told her. "I guess we're both lucky."

 **xXx**

Eret helped Heather out of the cave entrance and placed her on the floor, both of them smiling at each other. Eret let out a small laugh before placing his lip upon hers again. Then the sound of a twig breaking was heard. Heather and Eret both broke the kiss and looked in the direction of the sound to see Hiccup staring at them.

"Hiccup?!" Heather said in both shock and confusion. Hiccup quickly began to walk over to them as Eret pushed Heather behind him and pulled a knife out, ready to attack him. "Eret, wait, wait! He's my friend." Heather told him as she held him back.

Hiccup breathed slightly heavily as he place his left hand out and used his right hand to pull a knife out of his jacket pocket, the same knife that was used to nearly kill him. Hiccup held the knife out in the palm of his hand towards the grounder. "I think you lost this."

Hiccup walked first into the cave, followed by Heather and Eret. "So what the hell are you doing here?" Heather asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing." Hiccup told her. "I could also ask how long you've known he speaks English, but I won't." Hiccup walked around the cave room looking at the different objects that laid around. He then walked over to a table next to him and saw a horn. He picked it up and looked at Eret. "You blew this when your people were hunting us." Eret nodded. "You saved our lives. I have to believe there's more like you."

"I stabbed you." Eret pointed out as he walked over to Heather.

"And we tortured you." Hiccup pointed out. "If the two of us can get along, then maybe there's hope. Learn from history instead of repeating it, right?"

"How's that gonna happen?" Heather asked.

"For starters, no more killing." Hiccup told them. Eret shook his head.

"I don't have the power to call a truce." Eret told him.

"Then bring me to someone who does." Hiccup told him. Eret and Heather looked at each other, both thinking that Hiccup was out of his mind. "Hey, look. The rest of our people are coming down here. The first ship lands in two days."

"It's true." Heather told him, looking up to him.

"And because of the attacks, they're sending mostly soldiers, the people that enforce our laws. The Ark is about survival at any cost, and they'll kill people who fall out of line. When those people get down here if they feel threatened, they will start a war, and I don't want that. Neither do you, and I think that's why you blew that horn. Once the soldiers get here, it will be too late, and we'll have no power to stop them, but if they see that we're at peace, then maybe we have a chance to stay that way." Eret looked away from Hiccup and from Heather, thinking about what could be done. Think if this was right. He looked over to Hiccup and nodded.

"All right." Eret told him. "You bring your leader, I'll bring mine."

"What Dagur?" Heather asked like he was crazy. "He'll never go for this."

"No. Not your brother." Hiccup told her. "Me."

"Not just you." Eret told him. Hiccup gave him a confusing look, trying to think of who else was a leader down here. "The girl."

"Astrid."

 **xXx**

Back at the camp all of the prisoners were laughing and drinking and having a good time. Astrid was standing by a table with Ruffnut, Tuffnut and another female prisoner playing a game.

"You're not gonna get this one." Astrid told Ruffnut as she held a small metal ball-like object in her hand.

"Yes, I am." Ruffnut told her as she got her aim ready.

"No. It's not happening." Astrid told her. Ruffnut the threw the metal object onto the table, causing it to bounce back up and into a metal container.

"Whoo! All right." The three teenagers cheered. Astrid groaned playfully before taking a small cup and drinking the alcohol in one. Tuffnut looked at her with shock.

"What do you know? Her highness can actually party." Tuffnut joked. Astrid rolled her eyes before punching him in the shoulder.

"Watch it." She told her. Ruffnut laughed.

"Hey, it my job to bet my brother up." Ruffnut told her. Astrid shook her head.

"Okay, who's next?" She asked.

"Not you." Astrid turned around to see Hiccup standing behind her with a serious face. Astrid gave him a confusing look.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Let's take a walk." He told her. Astrid wanted to refuse but didn't bother arguing and walked over to him. He led her away from the party.

"Did something happen?" She asked.

"I need you to come with me, but I can't tell you why, okay?" He told her. Astrid shook her head.

"I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me what's going on." She told him. Hiccup sighed.

"Before I tell you, there's something I want to asked you." He told her. Astrid nodded to him. "Why have you been pushing me away?"

"Hiccup-"

"And don't try and make up an excuse, I want the true. Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

"No." She answered.

"Then what?" He asked.

"Just tell me what's going on?" She said like she was in a hurry, which she was. A hurry to get out of that topic of conversation.

"I set up a meeting with the grounders." He told her. Astrid opened her mouth in shock. She looked over at the prisoners before looking back at him.

"A meeting?" She said in shock. "I don't understand. With who? How?"

"I was just with the grounder that we had in the drop ship." He told her. "His name is Eret."

"Wait a second." Astrid said quickly stopping him. "He spoke to you?"

"It's not important. If we want to live in peace-"

"Hiccup, we can't live in peace with people who've done nothing but kill us." Astrid told him.

"Can you think of a better way to stop the bloodshed?" He asked her.

"Yeah. With the guns that the guard bring down." She told him.

"You really want a war? Because at this rate, that's what's coming." Hiccup told her. Astrid didn't say anything. "Look. I know it's a long shot, but this is our world now, and I think we can do better than the first time around. I trust him." Astrid shook her head.

"I don't." She told him. Hiccup sighed before looking down. "But if we go, we have to bring backup."

"No way." Hiccup said immediately. "We're not bringing guns. Those weren't the terms, and if we're gonna do this, we got to give it a fair shot." Astrid bit her lip, trying to think of what she could do. Before realising what she could do she looked up at Hiccup and sighed.

"Okay." She told him. "Okay. I'll get my pack, and I'll meet you at the gate." Hiccup nodded before walking of towards the gate to wait for her. Astrid sighed before walking over to a familiar tent to see Dagur walking out of it.

"Hey." She greeted, causing Dagur to turn around. "I need to talk to you."

"Having fun yet, princess?" He asked her as he carried on walking.

"I'm serious." She told him as she walked ahead of him to stop him.

"You always are, so talk." He told her.

"Hiccup's set up a meeting with the grounders." She told him, causing him from becoming funny to serious. "I'm leaving to go talk to them."

"Because you figure that impaling people on spears is code for 'let's be friends'?" He asked in a sarcastic way. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

"I think it might be worth a shot. I mean, we do have to live with these people." Astrid pointed out.

"They'll probably gut you, string you up as a warning." He told her.

"Well, that's why I'm here." She said. "I need you to follow us, be our backup."

"Does Hiccup know about this?" Dagur asked her.

"Hiccup doesn't need to know," she told him, "and Dagur, bring guns."

 **xXx**

Camicazi was sitting in her tent with many bullets surrounding her. Snotlout then walked into the tent with two cups in his hand.

"Hey, hey! There you are." He yelled. Camicazi turned around and let out a small laugh, he was clearly drunk, or close to it. "All right. Listen. We're playing drunk ball. I bet Monroe my team's gonna win the Unity Day title. That's for you." He said as he handed her a cup, which she gladly took and placed on her table. "I know you Zero-G mechs have crazy hand-eye skills, so? What do you think? It's got to be more fun than whatever you're doing." He said as he gestured the surroundings.

"I'm checking the gunpowder in these rounds so that if the grounders try to kill us all maybe we can get a few shots off beforehand." She told him as she got back to work checking another bullet.

"That's intense." He commented after taking another sip of alcohol. "Sure you know what you're doing?"

"Well, yeah, of course I know-" suddenly the bullet blew up. "Whoa! Damn!" Snotlout commented. Camicazi groaned. "You need now that, you know, you almost blew one off?"

"I got this." Camicazi sighed. Dagur then quickly entered the tent. He saw Snotlout and made a quick decision.

"Snotlout, you're coming with me." Dagur told him.

"I am?" He asked as Dagur handed him a gun. "But I've only had two drinks." He complained. Dagur then went to take some bullets but Camicazi quickly stopped him.

"If you're planning on shooting anything, you better think twice. I haven't checked those yet." She told him.

"Give me some bullets that work." He ordered.

"What do you need them for?" She asked him, without getting the bullets.

"Your brother's being an idiot." He told her. Camicazi sighed before grabbing a handful of cases and passing them to Dagur.

"I'm coming with you." She told him.

"Who else is coming?" Snotlout asked as he sorted the strap of the gun round his neck.

"Astrid's with Hiccup right now." Dagur told him before walking out.

"Well, not sure if that's a good thing or not." Camicazi commented before following Dagur. Snotlout begins to walk out of the tent but quickly stops and takes hold of his and Camicazi's cup, drinking the rest of it before walking out.

 **xXx**

"I'd love it if you were right about this," Astrid said to Hiccup as they walked through the forest, "but did you ever consider it might be a trap?"

"Yep, but since it's Unity Day, I decided to have hope instead." Hiccup told her as he jumped slightly down a step, only to get some pain in his sighed. "Unh." He groaned. Astrid quickly rushed to his sighed.

"Hey. Let me have a look at that." She told him. Hiccup undone his jacket and lifted up his shirt over the wound. Astrid leaned down slightly as she had a look at the wound. It was healing well. The bleeding had stopped and was now closing up. Hiccup looked down at her as she inspected the wound. Astrid looked up at him. Their eyes kept themselves locked together before Astrid quickly broke it.

"Seriously, Hiccup, you're putting a lot of faith in a guy who stuck a knife in you." Astrid pointed out as she pulled his shirt back down.

"I'm just trying to keep us alive." Hiccup told her before walking off.

"So am I." She muttered before pulling out some of the old nuts and dropping them on the ground.

 **xXx**

Cuyler Ridley sat in his cell as Spitelout and two other guards walked into the room. "You were seen planting the bomb, Ridley." Spitelout said as he came face to face with the man. "You killed 6 people."

"Should have been 7." Cuyler told him with a smirk. "Stoick's lucky he cut his speech short."

"I know you're upset about what happened at section 17." Spitelout said.

"I lost my wife. You're damn right I'm upset, but this is about more than the culling. Workers all over the Ark are tired of getting screwed. It's our kids you sent to die on earth, and who's on the first drop ship? Not us. Over and over, Stoick and the rest of you on the council betray our trust. Today is your reckoning." Cuyler told him

"Tell me. Who helped you?" Spitelout asked in a angry voice. "I know you didn't act alone."

"You don't know troll. You still think this is just about the chief." Cuyler said. Suddenly one of the guardsmen pulled his taser out and tased the other guard, while Cuyler pulled his legs up kicked Spitelout in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. The the lights began to flicker.

"There goes the power. That's our cue." The guardsmen said as he untied Cuyler. They both then ran out of the room, locking the door behind them

Stoick and a few of his men walked down the corridors as the lights flickered on and off. He then saw Gobber walking over to him with a small computer in his hands. "What's happened?"

"I'm not sure, but we've lost power to multiple stations Farm, Hydra, Mecha." Gobber told him. He, Stoick and the rest of the men began to walk. "Now we can vent in breathable air, but the temperature in those sections is falling fast. People are gonna freeze to death."

"Lift the lock-down and evacuate those stations." Stoick ordered. "Where's Spitelout? He's interrogating the bomber. Stoick." Gobber said as he quickly stopped him as he looked from the computer to Stoick. "Power's out in prison station." Stoick looked at him with a worried face before quickly running off.

Spitelout sat against the wall trying to warm himself up the best he could as he began to freeze. The other guard was still unconscious on the floor. Then suddenly the cell door opened and guards began to run in, including Stoick.

"Spitelout!" Stoick called as he knelt down next to his half brother.

"It's a mutiny." Spitelout stuttered slightly. "Mildew, he's- he's diverting power."

"He's taking the Exodus ship." Stoick said.

Ingrid stood on the Exodus ship as she packed the rest of the surplices when suddenly the guards began to tase everyone except the other guards. "Whoa, whoa! Whoa! What the hell are you doing?" A man asked as he raised his hands

"This is our ship now." A guardsmen told him. "Chief on deck." Ingrid looked through the gap to see Mildew walk into the room with other guards with her.

"How many of our people are on board?" He asked.

"Less than 50%, sir. They're all upstairs on the passenger deck." The guardsmen told him.

"Tell me about the cargo." He said.

"Nearly all here." The guardsmen replied.

"Search all the decks." Mildew ordered. "Throw anyone not loyal to us out of the service hatches and back into the Ark. Lieutenant, you may give the order."

"Seal the doors, begin the launch protocol." The guardsmen ordered. "We're t-minus 5 and counting." The man with his hands raised quickly made a run for it. The guards began to try and stop him but Mildew ordered them.

"Let him go! He's made his choice." Mildew told them.

"He'll warn Stoick." Cuyler pointed out.

"That hardly matters now." Mildew told him. "This Exodus ship belongs to all of you. You're the future of the human race, and today, I'm going to lead you home." Ingrid stayed hidden in the shadows as she listened to the doors close.

 **xXx**

Light was in the sky as Heather walked nervously on the bridge waiting for Eret and Hiccup to return. She soon heard footprints running. She turned around to see Hiccup and Astrid running over to her. Astrid looked at her with confusion. "So that's how you set this up." She said as she looked at Hiccup and then back to Heather. "You helped him escape, didn't you?"

"I trust him, Astrid." Heather told her.

"There's a lot of that going around." Astrid commented as she looked at Hiccup. Before he could reply footprints could be heard.

"Someone's coming." Hiccup said as he, Heather and Astrid looked over at the other end of the bridge. Eret soon came into view as he jogged over to the bridge. Heather sighed before running over to him.

Dagur, Snotlout and Camicazi walked slowly as they made their way below the bridge. The three of them looked over at the others on the bridge. "What's Heather doing here?" Camicazi asked. Eret and Heather soon came in contact with each other causing them to hug.

"I guess we know how he got away." Snotlout said as he watched the scene. Dagur had a look that could kill. As the couple pulled away from each other Eret looked over Heather's shoulder at Astrid, who began to feel slightly uneasy. Hiccup saw this and took hold of her hand. Astrid looked up at him and nodded. He nodded back.

Suddenly at the other end of the bridge another sound was heard, though it was not of footsteps. I was of flapping. Everyone looked over to see two creatures flying threw the trees. They had a pair of wings and short feet and a long neck. As they set foot onto the ground they used their wings to keep balanced. Hiccup, Astrid and the others, apart from Eret, gasped in shock.

"Impossible." Heather muttered.

"Dragons?!" Astrid said in shock. They both had two pairs of long horns. One pair sat on top of their heads, sticking so they were pointing to their backs. The other doing the same, just on the side of their heads more outwards. One of the dragons were a green-yellow like colour with shaded black lines. The other one was a deep red with pitch black lines.

The two riders, which were sat on the neck of the dragons, were clothed in full black with a skeleton mask covering their faces. They used a pain of horns to keep themselves of the dragon.

"That would be my kind of dragon." Snotlout said with a smirk, only to have Camicazi punch him.

The there was another flapping of wings being heard. This dragon was different to the other once. As this one landed, it landed in its tall back feet, not using its wings for support. It had spike-like horns sticking out the back of its head and another horn the curved from the middle of their face. It also had spikes lying on its long tail. With its mouth closed two teeth stuck out from each side. The mouth was almost like a beak. This dragons colour was purple on top but once at the wings it began to fade to a sky-like blue.

A woman, also dressed in black, sat on this dragon, though she did not wear a mask to cover her face. Her eyes were wide open, like she could see everything around her. Her short blond hair had small briads.

"Hey. We said no weapons." Hiccup said as he and Astrid rushed over to Eret and Heather, who had their backs turned. As they turned around Eret got a better look at the two guards. They were each carrying a bow.

"I was told there wouldn't be." Eret told him, sounding annoyed.

"It's too late now." Astrid said. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other before walked forward. The Grounder leader's dragon knelt down, allowing the ground to climb of the dragon. The Grounder leader then began to walk towards Hiccup and Astrid, her dragon following behind her. They each carried on walking till they were apart in arms length. The woman held her arm up slightly, causing the dragon to stop a couple of feet away from her. She then dropped her arm and looked at the pair.

"Your names are Hiccup and Astrid?" The woman asked.

"Yes." Hiccup answered.

"I'm Mala." The grounder leader answered. Astrid sighed.

"I think we got off to a rough start, but we want to find a way to live together in peace." Astrid told her.

"I understand." Mala told her. "You started a war that you don't know how to end."

"What? No. We didn't start anything." Astrid told her. "You attacked us for no reason."

"No reason?" Mala nearly yelled. "The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground." Hiccup and Astrid looked at her with confusion, an till Hiccup realised what she meant.

"The flares?" Hiccup asked. "No. That was a signal meant for our families. We had no idea-"

"You're invaders." Mala told him. "Your ship landed in our territory."

"We didn't know anyone was here. We thought the ground was uninhabited." Hiccup told her.

"You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him." Mala pointed out. "These are all acts of war."

"I see your point." Astrid said as she nodded. "That's why we need to put an end to all of this."

 **xXx**

Back on the Ark guards stood outside the sealed doors as some tried to open them. "I told you. It happened very fast. I'm not even sure if Dr. Hofferson was inside at the time. I'm sorry." The man said who had escaped the Exodus. Stoick soon made it to the door and looked inside.

"Stoick, the Exodus ship is fully charged, and they've begun their launch protocol." Gobber told him

"It won't launch when the door's open, that's correct?" Stoick asked.

"It is." Gobber told him.

"Then get the damn door open." Stoick ordered.

"We can't. It's already pressurised, and we can only open it from the inside." Gobber told him.

"Keep trying!" Stoick yelled.

"How long until launch?" Spitelout asked Gobber. Gobber looked over to him.

"Two minutes."

"Mildew, open the door!" Stoick ordered, though he ignored him.

"We should be ready for launch momentarily." A guards told Mildew from the inside. Ingrid listened to everyone that was begin said as she stayed hidden, or so she thought. Suddenly arms grabbed her. She looked up to see Cuyler had grabbed her.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He yelled as he dragged her away from her hiding spot and to the middle of the room. Mildew saw the woman as she was being dragged.

"Mildew, don't do this." Ingrid begged.

"It's already done." Mildew yelled.

"Get her out of here." Cuyler ordered. As the guards began to drag her Mildew stopped them.

"Wait. We could use a doctor on the ground." Mildew told them. "Come with us. You owe Stoick no loyalty. He's killed your brother and betrayed you. You're just like us. Think of your daughter. You can see Astrid again today." Ingrid shook her head.

"I'm nothing like you." She told him before running over to the door and pressing the button to open it. She was suddenly tased and fell unconscious.

"Ingrid!" Stoick yelled. Mildew quickly rushed over and pressed the button again and closed the doors.

"I got my pry bar in!" Gobber yelled. "Somebody get me a jack!"

 **xXx**

"Eret said there are more of you coming down, warriors." Mala said.

"The guard, yes, but also farmers, doctors, engineers." Astrid told her. "We can help each other but not if we're at war."

"Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us, that they'll respect the terms you and I agree on?" Mala asked. Hiccup sighed.

"I promise I will do everything I can to convince them to honour the terms that we set." Hiccup told her. "My father is their leader, I can talk to him."

"Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?" Mala asked.

Dagur, Snotlout and Camicazi stayed hidden in the shadows as they watched the conversation. Camicazi lifted her gun and pointed it to the small group to get a better look.

"Grounder Queen looks pissed." Camicazi commented.

"Our princess has that effect." Dagur told her.

"If you fire the first shot, those people coming down won't bother negotiating. Our technology, they will wipe you out." Astrid told her.

"They wouldn't be the first to try." Mala told her with a slight smirk on her face. Hiccup and Astrid became confused by this.

Snotlout who was watching the conversation suddenly caught a glimpse of something in the trees. He use his gun to get a better look, only to see a grounder in the tree aiming his bow and arrow. "No. No. This is bad."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Camicazi asked.

"There's grounders in the trees." Snotlout told them

"What? Where?" Dagur said as he and Camicazi began to look for them.

"They're gonna shoot!" Snotlout yelled before running out into the opening. "Hiccup, run!" He then began to fire in the tree's shooting the grounders. "Run!" He yelled again.

Mala pulled out a knife, ready to stab either Hiccup or Astrid, but was stopped by Dagur he shot her in the arm.

"Get down!" Hiccup yelled as he and Astrid knelt down to avoid the bullets and now arrows. Hiccup pushed Astrid to the floor, using his own body as a shield for her.

"Go, go!" Dagur yelled as he, Camicazi and Snotlout began to run. Mala made it back to her dragon. The three creatures took to the sky and flew off while the guards kept on firing. The an arrow made its way into Eret's shoulder.

"Eret! You've been hit." Heather yelled as she looked at the arrow. Eret moaned in pain.

"It's just a scratch." He told her as he quickly pulled the arrow out. "Okay. Run. Don't stop till you get behind your walls." He told Hiccup and Astrid as they ran over to them. "Go! Take her!"

"Eret, no!" Heather begged as she tried to fight of Astrid, who was pulling her away. "Go!" He yelled one last time. Astrid pulled Heather through the bushes. Hiccup and Eret shared a look before he followed his friends.

 **xXx**

"I got the jack!" A man yelled as the guards carried on trying to open the door. Once the jack was in place they were able to open the door more.

"Where's Ingrid? Send her through!" Stoick ordered.

"I will if you let the doors close." Mildew told him. Stoick shook his head.

"No, no, no. They haven't decoupled!" Gobber yelled. Spitelout who was helping opening the door looked to him.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means the drop ship's still tied into all of our major systems power, water, air. If it launches, the Ark will be crippled, and everyone left on board will die." Gobber told him.

"Can we do it from our side?" Spitelout asked.

"Yes, but it takes hours, and they're not waiting!" Gobber pointed out. Stoick who had heard this began to get made.

"Mildew, please! You don't want to be remembered like this." Stoick told him.

"I won't be because you brought this on yourself, Stoick. You promised the people truth, and all you gave them were lies!" Mildew told him.

"You had me shot! You detonated a bomb in a public meeting, killing 6 innocent people, and now you want to kill everyone on this space station to satisfy your ego?"

"He is still lying to your face. There aren't enough drop ships to get everyone down to the ground." Mildew yelled. Suddenly it was like time has stopped. Everyone became confused.

"What is she talking about?" Someone asked. Stoick grinned his teeth in anger.

"Trust me, we will figure this out. We will survive, we always do!" Stoick told them. "Go! Come on!" He yelled as everyone began to open the door again.

"You can't trust him. More than 1,000 people, most of them workers like you, are gonna be left behind to die." Mildew told everyone. Suddenly a shock was thrown through the Ark.

"We've lost the main power generator." Gobber yelled. This gave a guard on the drop ship time to push the jack of the door, causing it to close.

"No!" Stoick yelled.

"Launch!" Mildew yelled.

"We have to go right now! Everybody out! Get back behind the containment doors." Everyone began to run as they made their way away from the ship, though Stoick stayed there in shock. Spitelout quickly rushed over to him and dragged him away.

The Exodus ship launched. As it broke away, the Ark Station's lights faded out. The ship took everything keeping them alive.

 **xXx**

Everyone soon made it back to the camp by nightfall. Everyone one was out of breath, some in pain on their feet. Each of them tried to take oxygent into their lungs the best they could. Dagur was the first to recover.

"You got something to say?" He asked Hiccup.

"Yeah. I told you no guns!" Hiccup yelled.

"I told you we couldn't trust the grounders. I was right." Dagur yelled back.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Camicazi yelled.

"I would of, but you were too busy making bullets for your gun." Hiccup told her.

"You're lucky she brought that!" Dagur told him. "They came there to kill you, Hiccup."

"You don't know that." Hiccup told him. "Snotlout fired the first shot!"

"You ruined everything." Heather told Snotlout before walking off.

"I saved you!" Snotlout yelled over to her, though she didn't look back. "You're welcome." He muttered before walking into the camp.

"Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now." Hiccup told them. "You didn't have to trust the grounders. You just had to trust me."

"Like any of us would trust a Chief's son." Dagur said before walking of into the camp, Camicazi following him behind. It just left Hiccup and Astrid alone once again.

"Like I said, best Unity Day ever." Hiccup commented. Just then a sound was heard. Hiccup and Astrid looked to the sky to see something bright flying through the air. "The Exodus ship?" Hiccup guessed. "Your mom's early." Astrid smiled, not waiting to see her mother again. Just as it cam closer to Earth Astrid and Hiccup realise something.

"Wait." Astrid said. "It's going to fast."

"No parachute?" Hiccup said. "Something's not right." As the ship hid behind the mountains a fireball lit up the air. Astrid stared at the scene in front of her. Fire. Explosion. The ship exploded. They were dead. Her mother was dead. Astrid dropped to her knees and began to cry.

Hiccup, who stood behind her, felt like he was experiencing Déjà Vu. This was how his mother died. He dropped to his knees and pulled Astrid against him, letting her lean and cry on him, knowing no words could help this moment in time.


	11. I Am Become Death

The size of a field was now rubble and dirt. Astrid, Hiccup, Dagur, Tuffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Camicazi were all wondering the crash sight. There was damages metal, pipes and a torn apart drop ship where ever they looked. In some places were black skeletons of the Ark people who came down.

Hiccup looked over at Astrid who was staniding far from the group looking around. "Astrid shouldn't be out here."

"Her mom was on the ship." Camicazi said.

"All the more reason she shouldn't be here." Hiccup told her.

"She's looking for answers. You want to help her, find me the black box, hard drives, anything that will explain why the ship crashed." Camicazi told him before continuing her search.

"Stay sharp." Dagur called out. "Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when."

"Can you blame them?" Hiccup asked.

"No. I blame you." Dagur told him.

"Maybe if you didn't bring guns-"

"If we didn't bring guns, we all would've been killed." Snotlout shouted over from where he was.

"Why they're coming doesn't matter anymore." Dagur told them. "It's our job to be ready when they do. We're on our own now."

Astrid walked over to part of the drop ship where small pipes were going down the side. As she got closer she saw a red like liquid dripping down. She quickly covered her nose and stepped back from the smell. Camicazi looked over to her and saw what she was looking at.

"Astrid, stop!" She yelled before quickly rushing over to her.

"Rocket fuel?" Astrid asked as Camicazi approached.

"Hydrazine." She corrected as she knelt down. "Highly unstable in its non-solid form. If this stuff meets fire, we're all pink mist." She took a small rock and dipped in in the red liquid. "Fire in the hole!" She yelled to the group. She then turned around and threw the room to a small patch of fire, causing a big explosion. Everyone watching a shock.

"Can I throw a rock?" Tuffnut asked as he placed his hand in the air.

"We need to clear the area." Camicazi called over to Dagur, ignoring Tuffnut's question.

"Okay, then." Dagur told her. "We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We got to get back before dark." Everyone nodded before making their way away from the drop sight.

 **xXx**

Later that evening some of the prisoners stood around their made wall, guns pointed to the open air, ready for anything that could be a sign of the grounders. Ruffnut was sitting by the wall, looking out to see if she could see her brother or anyone else. Heather walked over to Ruffnut. She turned around to see the her walking over.

"Hey. No sign of your brother or the others yet." Ruffnut told her. Heather however ignored her slightly as she looked through the gap of the wall.

"Hey. I don't care." Heather told her. She saw a white flower sitting on a broken part of a tree. It was a sign. Heather smiled.

Suddenly a loud clattering was heared. "Somebody hit the trip wire!" A male prisoner, Marco, yelled. Everyone began to gather round the wall, seeing if they could see who had triped the trip wire. Heather became slightly nervous, hoping it wasn't Eret.

"I don't see anything." Gustav said as he looked through his gun for a closer look.

"Are you sure it was the trip wire?" Ruffnut called out but no one answered her.

"I got nothing." The male prisoner said. "Gustav?" Before he could reply a small rusteling was heared.

"There, there, there!" Gustav yelled before firing the gunshots. "Think I got him."

"Let's go." Ruffnut said before following Gustav and the out of the camp.

"Eret." Heather whispeared before running after the pair. Heather pushed past the pair as they walked slowly over to the body.

"Hey, slow down." Gustav commented. As they got closer to the body they could see it was lying face away from them. Heather walked closer to the body, Ruffnut held the tourch, Gustave aimed his gun.

"Heather, be careful." Ruffnut said. Heather slowly knelt down next to the body. As she placed a hand on the persons shoulder they quickly began to breath heavily. They body shot up and they began to move as far away from them as possible. The prisoners all shared the same shooked look.

"Oh my Thor." Ruffnut commented.

"No way." Gustav said.

"Savage?" Heather said. There, in front of them was a bloody faced Savage. The same Savage that went missing over a week ago.

 **xXx**

A little while later Savage, Heather, Ruffnut, Gustav and other prisoner guards stood in the drop ship, watching over Savage. Though Savage was sitting on the floor shaking in either pain or shock. He couldn't tell.

The drop ship curtain suddenly opened. Dagur, Hiccup and Astrid all walked into the room. Their eyes imidently landed on Savage.

"Everyone but Gustav and Ruffnut out." Everyone made their way out of the room as Gustav began talking.

"He claims he was with the grounders. We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Gustav explained.

"I wasn't sneaking." Savage told them. "I was running from the grounders."

"Anyone see grounders?" Dagur asked. Gustav and Ruffnut shook their head. Dagur then turned to Astrid.

"See if he's lying." He told her. Astrid nodded before walking over to Savage. She knelt down in front of him and began to examin his injuries before landing on his hands.

"He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off." She told them "They tortured him."

"You and the grounders should compare notes." Hiccup commented.

"The grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?" Dagur ordered.

"Everything." Savage answered. Astrid and Hiccup looked at him with a betrayed expression, though Dagur looked like he could kill him. Astrid shook her head before standing up and walking over to him.

"Once he's better, we find out what he knows." Astrid told him.

"And what, give him no punnishment for talking us out to the grounders?" Dagur asked.

"No, we bannish him." Astrid told him before going to leave.

"What if he refuses to leave?" Hiccup asked her. "What do we do with him then?" Astrid stopped in her tracks and looked at Savage before shaking her head.

"I don't know, we'll figure it out." She told him.

"No." Dagur quickly said. "Then we kill him."

 **xXx**

Astrid made her way out of the drop ship and through the camp sight. She carried on walking till she entered the radio tent, seeing Camicazi with headphones on. "Oh, Sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here."

Camicazi looked at Astrid with slight concern. "You okay?" Astrid nodded, though it gave her a couple of seconds to actually answer.

"Yeah." Astrid told her. Camicazi sighed.

"Still nothing from the Ark. It's like they shut it down from their side. It could be solar flares blocking the signal." Camicazi guessed.

"But you don't think so." Astrid said. Camicazi shook her head.

"I got a bad feeling." Camicazi said as she looked at the radio.

"There's a lot of that going around." Astrid said quietly. Just as she moved to walk out of the tent Camicazi spoke.

"Astrid, wait." She quickly said as she took of her headphones. Astrid turned around and looked at her. "I'm sorry about your mom." Astrid nodded before letting a tear slip out of her eye. Camicazi's eyes widened and began to panic slightly.

"Oh my God," she said before quickly standing up and walking over to Astrid, "Astrid, your eyes." Astrid became confused by this and wiped her tear away. She looked down and saw it wasn't a tear she cried, it was blood.

"Astrid! Where's Astrid?" Astrid quickly walked out of the tent and went round the back to see Ruffnut walking over to her, looking very weak, also having blood coming for her eyes and also nose.

"Ruff?" Astrid said as she walked over to her friend.

"It won't stop." Ruffnut told her. Camicazi then walked out of the tent and over to Astrid.

"What's happening?" She asked Astrid. Before she could reply someone else was heared coughing. The three looked over to see Gustav coughing with blood coming out of his mouth slightly.

"Cami, get away from us." Astrid ordered. Camicazi looked at her with confution

"What?"

"They're the ones who brought Savage in." Astrid told her.

 **xXx**

Savage was leaning forward, holding his stomach, as he coughed out blood from his mouth. Astrid quickly entered the drop ship and knelt down next to the beaten prisoner.

"Savage, hey, look at me." Astrid ordered. "I need you to tell me exactly how you escaped from the grounders. What happened?"

"I don't know. I woke up, and they forgot to lock my cage. There was no one there, so I took off." Savage told her. Astrid then realised what had actually happened.

"They let you go." Astrid said. Dagur then walked into the drop ship, walking right over to the pair. Astrid placed her hand in front of her as a stopping motion.

"Dagur, stay back." She ordered. Dagur then saw the blood on the floor.

"What the hell is this?" Dagur asked. Astrid looked up to him.

"Biological warfare. You were waiting for the grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Savage is the weapon."

"When are they coming?" Dagur asked. Savage shook his head.

"Savage, think, all right?" Astrid told him. "What can you tell us that's useful? Did you hear anything?"

"They are vicious, cruel," Savage began to say.

"You want to see vicious?" Dagur asked as he walked over to them. Astrid quickly placed her hand out.

"Hey, don't. Whatever this thing is, it spreads through contact." Astrid told him. Suddenly as she finished her sentence Hiccup came running in.

"Astrid?" He called out as he ran over to the pair, but Dagur quickly stopped him from getting closer.

"Hiccup, you shouldn't be in here. No one should." Astrid told them

"I heard you were sick." Hiccup told her. Astrid looked down. He looked round the room to see Gustav, Marco and Ruffnut sitting down together, also sick. "Astrid, what is this?"

"I don't know, some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-" Suddenly Marco scream and cough up blood at the same time. His body began to shake like he was having a seizure. Astrid quickly got up and began to make her way over to the young man, but Hiccup quickly stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, but she quickly shrugged him off.

"Hey, don't touch me. You could get sick. Wash your hands now." Astrid ordered him before walking over to Marco, who was still shaking and coughing.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Dagur asked.

"I don't know." Astrid told him. Then the coughing slowly died down and he began to stop shaking. Suddenly it was like someone had switched a button because the fell limb altogether. Astrid turned his head slightly so she could get his puls.

"Is he..." Dagur began to asked. Astrid looked up at him.

"He's dead." Everyone became shocked by this sudden event. Astrid was the first the recover as she quickly stood up and grabbed a bottle and walked over to Hiccup.

"Here. Alcohol. Hold out your hand." Hiccup held his hands out in front of him as she poured the alcohol over his hands. Once his hands were fully covered she stopped and placed the bottle back down, while Hiccup shook his hands dry.

"What do we do?" Hiccup asked her.

"Quarantine. Round up everyone who had contact with Savage. Bring them here." Astrid instructed. Hiccup nodded before walking out of the drop ship.

"And everyone they had contact with?" Dagur asked.

"Well, we have to start somewhere." Astrid told him before walking over to Ruffnut. "Ruff, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in?"

"The first one there was Heather." She answered. Dagur could of sworn he felt his heart stopped because before he knew it he had rushed out of the drop ship.

 **xXx**

Heather was laying in her bed, looking through Eret's sketch book at all the different things he had drawn. She had come across some different types of dragons from what she had saw the other day on the bridge. Some were really cute, others looked mean. As she carried on looking she soon saw a picture of herself. She smiled. Suddenly her tent door opened. Reacting fast she hid the book under her pillow. She looked behind her to see her brother.

"Jeez, you scared me." She said with a sigh. Dagur stayed by the door, lifting the parachute sheet up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked with concern.

"Fine. Get out." She told him, though he ignored her.

"Did you touch Savage yesterday?" He asked. She became confused and turned around so she was on her side, looking over her shoulder.

"What?"

"Did you touch Savage yesterday?" He repeated, sounding more eager.

"I don't know. I guess so. Why?" She asked.

"The grounders sent him here with a virus to infect us. Marco just died from it, another mark for your boyfriend's book." Heather became shocked by this. "Get up. Astrid needs to examine you." He then left the tent.

Once inside the drop ship Astrid and Dagur held a cloth over their mouth and nose while Heather held her mouth open, letting Astrid inspect it with a flashlight. More and more people have entered the drop ship having the virus, Tuffnut now being one of them.

"Okay. We're done." She said as she took the flashlight away along with her cloth, Dagur doing the same. "No visible signs of swelling or bleeding."

"So you're saying she doesn't have it?" Dagur asked.

"I'm saying she doesn't have symptoms, but that could change. We need to keep her here just in case." Astrid told him.

"No way." Dagur said immediately. "Look at this place. She'll get sick just being here."

"Do you want to stop the spread, or not?" Dagur didn't say anything, knowing Astrid was right. "Look. I'll keep her on the third level with the people who aren't symptomatic yet. Think of it as a way to stop her from sneaking out again."

"Screw you, Astrid. I thought you were on my side." Heather said to her. Astrid sighed.

"I'll let you know if her condition changes." Astrid told Dagur. He nodded before walking out of the tent. Astrid sighed as Heather began to go up the ladder.

"Heather, wait." Heather stopped and looked over to Astrid with an annoyed look. "I am on your side. I need you to sneak out again."

 **xXx**

"Eret?" Heather called as she ran through the cave hallways looking for the grounder. "Eret?" Eret soon came round the corner and right over to Heather. She thought he was going to kiss her when he placed his hands on her cheeks but instead his eyes trailed all over her face. He moved her hair, looking at her neck.

"You knew." Heather said. Eret sighed.

"I tried to get you out of there. You not see the flower?" He asked.

"I saw it, right before I found the kid your people sent to infect us." Heather said, now sounding angry. "People are dying, Eret. Astrid sent me here for the cure."

"There is no cure." Eret said as he shook his head and moving away slightly.

"So you were just gonna let my people die? You were gonna let me die?" Heather asked.

"The sickness passes quickly. Few are immune. We use it to soften the battlefield. I am not surprised you are one of the strong ones." Eret told her.

"The battlefield?" Heather repeated. Eret then realised what he had just said. Knowing he can't go back he told her.

"They attack at first light." Eret told her. Heather then began to panic slightly.

"You're gonna have to help me save them." Heather told him.

"I can't. I tried. My people think I'm a traitor now." Eret told her.

"Because of the bridge?" Heather asked. "You were just trying to make peace."

"It's not the bridge." Eret said. Heather realised what he was trying to say.

"Because of me?" She asked softly. Eret didn't say or do any movement, she knew she was right. "Oh."

"That doesn't matter now." Eret told her. "I'm leaving, Heather, right now. I want you to come with me."

"And go where?" She asked.

"East to the sea, then across it. There's a clan, allies of the woods. They'll take us." Eret told her.

"Do they have dragons too?" Heather asked.

"Guess we'll find out." Eret told her. Heather sighed.

"I can't just let my brother get killed." Heather told him

"There is nothing you can do to stop that now." Eret told her.

"I can warn them." Heather pointed out.

"Heather, they'll kill you." Eret said. "If you're there at dawn-"

"I won't be. Just wait for me here. I'm coming with you." Heather told him. As she began to leave Eret quickly stopped her.

"Wait." He whispered as he placed his hands on her cheeks and placed his lips upon hers. As they broke apart Heather looked up to him and nodded before running off to warn her brother and friends.

 **xXx**

Astrid stood on the platform of the drop ship and Tuffnut and Gustav carried out a female prisoner, who has now died of the virus. Astrid couldn't hide the sadness on her face as another friend was lost. Her eyes soon drifted to Hiccup, who was looked at her with concern though she could see the fear in his eyes.

"All right. Show is over." Dagur called out. "Get back to your posts." Everyone who had been watching were now walking away to begin their jobs once again. Dagur walked over to the drop ship, though he stayed a distance away.

"You got enough food in there, water?" He asked.

"Yeah." Astrid told him before walking back into the drop ship.

"Heather, you okay?" Astrid quickly stopped and turned around. When Heather didn't answer Dagur began to walk closer to the drop ship.

"Dagur, wait." Astrid said. "She's not here. I sent her to see Eret." Dagur remained silent, though his face showed anger. "Look. If there's a cure, he has it. I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't let her go."

"If anything happens to her, you and me are gonna have problems." Dagur threatened before walking away from her and over to the gate.

"Dagur! Dagur!" Astrid called out.

"Out of my way." Dagur ordered to the guard of the gate. As he turned around he say blood dripping from his eyes.

"Nobody touch him!" Snotlout yelled as he pointed his gun to the prisoner.

"Get to the drop ship now." Dagur ordered. Camicazi watched all of this from the distance. She looked over to see a female prisoner looking faint.

"Hey, are you okay?" The girl didn't answer as she collapsed, but not before coughing up blood into another prisoner's eyes.

"Oh my Thor, it's on me!" The prisoner cried. chaos suddenly erupted. Everyone began to panic. Those with guns pointed them all to each other, not wanting to catch the virus themselves.

"Get away! Calm down. Put that gun down. Put it down!" Everyone began to cry. Dagur tried his best to get people to stop pointing their guns, Hiccup cried to calm everyone down.

Suddenly 3 gunshots where heard. Everyone looked over to the drop ship to see Astrid holding a gun up in the air. She looked weaker that before. "This is exactly what the grounders want. Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first." She said weakly.

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus." Snotlout yelled as he pointed his gun to Astrid. "Get back in the damn drop ship." Dagur quickly walked over and took the gun from Snotlout, but not before butting the bottom of it into his face.

"Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." Dagur told her. Astrid didn't answer as the gun dropped from her hand and fell to the floor, her body doing the same. Or it would have is Hiccup didn't rush over to her.

"Hiccup, don't touch her." Camicazi said but he ignored her and picked her up in his arms.

"Let me go. I'm okay." Astrid said to him in a weak voice.

"No, you're not." Hiccup pointed out.

"Heather will come back with a cure." Astrid told him.

"There is no cure." Everyone turned around to see Heather now standing not far from the small group. "But the grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really? Tell that to them." Dagur said as he gestured the two dead prisoners with his gun. Heather sighed and closed her eyes. "I warned you about seeing that grounder again."

"Yeah well, I have a warning for you, too." Heather told him. "The grounders are coming!" Heather called out. Everyone began to mutter to each other. "And they're attacking at first light." Heather then began to walk over to Hiccup and Astrid, but Dagur stopped her by grabbing her arm, though she just pulled her arm out of his grip and carried on walking.

"Come on. I'll help you get Astrid into the drop ship." Heather said as she and Hiccup walked into the drop ship, carrying Astrid in his arms. Dagur turned to Camicazi who had watched the scene unfold.

"How many bullets can you make by first light?"

 **xXx**

"What do I have to do to stop you from coming in here?" Astrid asked Hiccup. Hiccup looked around at the other infected people in the drop ship. Some coughing, some resting. He needed to put her down somewhere, but there was barley any room left.

"Get better." Hiccup told her.

"If he's not sick by now, then he's probably immune like me." Heather told her.

"Here." Hiccup and Heather looked over to see Savage walking over to them. "Come on. She can take mine." He then saw a hammock. He walked over to it and gently placed Astrid on it, Heather helping by keeping it still.

"What else did Eret tell you?" Hiccup asked Heather.

"The virus doesn't last long." Heather told him.

"It's true." Savage said. "I feel better."

"They need to stay hydrated." Astrid said as she made a move to get up, but Hiccup gently pushed her back down.

"You need to stay hydrated." Heather walked back over, Hiccup not realising she had left, with a cup of water. She went to pass it to Astrid but Hiccup took it from her instead. He placed a hand under Astrid's head and slowly lifted her head up and placed the cup to her lips. Once she had took the drink her head fell back down.

"Okay. Them, too." Astrid told him. Hiccup looked like she didn't want to leave her side. "Please?" Astrid said as she moved to get up once again but Heather this time stopped her.

"It's okay. I'll do it. Just rest." Heather told her before walking away.

"I'll help you." Savage said as he stood up from where he was sitting and walked over to Heather. Hiccup though remained by Astrid's side. They looked at each other for a couple of seconds before Astrid spoke.

"You need to save yourselves. Just leave camp. Take anyone healthy enough with you." Astrid said.

"If you think that's even a possibility, you don't know me very well." Hiccup told her.

"I know you." Astrid told him. Hiccup looked into her eyes while Astrid showed a small weak smile before closing her eyes.

"Look, at this rate, when the grounders get here, there won't be anyone left to fight back." Savage said as he walked over to Hiccup.

"That's the point." Heather said as she helped Tuffnut with his drink. Hiccup began to think of anything they could do to fight back with who they had. Then an idea hit him

"Then we slow them down."

 **xXx**

Inside Camicazi's tent, Dagur, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Camicazi and two other female prisoners were all standing round a table preparing the guns.

"There's 5 to a clip. Let's go. We need to get these guns on the wall." Dagur told them

"Why just 5?" Fishlegs asked.

"We're running out of gunpowder." Camicazi told him.

"Oh, we're so dead." Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, if you fight with those fishy legs of yours." Snotlout insulted. Fishlegs glared at him, looking like he wanted to say something back.

"Hey, guys, stay focused." Camicazi told them. "We're doing good. We need as many rounds done by dawn as we can."

"It won't matter if there's no one left who can shoot." Hiccup said as he walked into the tent. "What do we need to build a bomb?" Everyone looked at him with a shocked face.

"Depends on what you're trying to blow up." Camicazi told him.

"How about a bridge?" Hiccup asked.

"What are you talking about?" Dagur asked.

"Savage says he crossed a bridge on his way back here from the grounders' camp. Sound familiar?" Hiccup asked Dagur.

"Yeah. So what?"

"So the virus is fast. He's already getting better. Blowing the bridge won't stop the attack, but the longer we can delay it, the more of us will be able to fight." Hiccup explained.

"Even if Savage is telling the truth, and that's a big if, those grounders have dragons for crying out loud. They could just fly over it."

"But not all the grounders will be flying of dragons." Hiccup told him.

"Even if that was true, that bridge has survived a nuclear war and 97 years of weather." Dagur pointed out.

"It won't survive me." Camicazi told them.

 **xXx**

Camicazi and a couple of other prisoners arrived back at the drop sight of the ship crash. She walked over to the engine, wearing her old astronaut suit that she wore down to earth in her escape pod. She slowly approached the engine with a metal can bottle in her hand. She knelt down next to the engine and placed the bottle under the dripping fuel.

"Please don't let me blow up."

 **xXx**

Night had arrived and Camicazi was standing in her tent, still working on the bomb. She still wore her astronaut suit as she poured the final substance into a glass jar. Once finished she screwed the lid onto the jar. With a sigh she took of her helmet.

"Okay, you can come in now." Camicazi called. Dagur and Hiccup entered the tent. Dagur looked at the red substance in the glass jar, almost like it could go of at any seconds.

"Boom!" Camicazi yelled, hoping to scare Dagur, but it didn't work.

"That's cute." Dagur commented.

"Relax. It needs an accelerant Gunpowder." Camicazi told him. "Container of hydrazine. Put the gunpowder around the hydrazine." She said as she picked up a glass jar of gun powder. She pretended to sprinkle some on the glass jar. She then placed the red substance in a big metal container. "Hit the bull's-eye," she said as she drew a large 'X' on the container, "win a prize."

"It's the rest of our gunpowder. Won't be able to make any more bullets." Dagur pointed out.

"Tonight we need a bomb." Hiccup told him "We can worry about bullets tomorrow."

"If we do this and it doesn't work, we'll all be dead tomorrow." Dagur told him.

"Then let's make sure it works." Camicazi told them. "To be safe, you need to be at least 200 feet away to make the shot." She told Dagur.

"No problem." Dagur told her. "Which one of you plants the bomb?" The was a couple of seconds of silence as the pair hesitated, before Hiccup sighed.

"I will." Dagur chuckled.

"You won't pick up a gun, but blowing people up, that you're okay with?" Dagur asked.

"We're blowing up a bridge. There's not gonna be any people on it." Hiccup pointed out.

"Hiccup, we have one bomb. We need to use it to kill as many of those bastards as possible." Dagur said.

"But they don't know we only have one bomb. If we did, why would we waste it on the bridge? I'm talking about deterrents, peace through strength." Hiccup said.

"The appearance of strength, you mean." Camicazi said as she took of her suit.

"Yeah." Hiccup said.

"Men who built the A-bomb thought they were peacemakers, too. How'd that work out for them?" Hiccup looked over to him, suddenly widening his eyes. Dagur's nose was bleeding. Camicazi looked at Dagur and saw the same thing.

"Don't touch anything." Dagur looked at her with confusion before feeling the substance on his nose. He wiped it, realising what had happened.

"Who else can take a shot?" Hiccup asked.

"Appreciate the concern." Dagur told the pair. "Make sure the bomb is packed and ready to go in 10 minutes." And with that he left the tent, imminently dropping his acted and showing how weak he was truly feeling. He slowly walked away from the tent and over to a small group of male prisoners.

"Snotlout, come here." He called out. Snotlout looked over before walking away from his group of friends and over to Dagur.

"You need me to go with you to the bridge again?" Snotlout asked as he approached Dagur, though he held his hand out to stop him from coming closer.

"Stay back." He warned. He then dropped his hand and looked at the young man. "I need you to take the shot."

"Okay, I can do that." Snotlout told him. Dagur then looked over Snotlout and saw the small group sitting around.

"Don't you have jobs to do?" He called out. The group the got up and began to do their work. He then turned his attention back to Snotlout. "If you miss, if that bridge doesn't blow, we're all dead."

"Okay." Snotlout said.

"Don't miss." Dagur told him before walking away. As he carried on walking he suddenly felt like all of his energy had been drained and he fell onto a tent.

"Dagur!" Snotlout said as he rushed to help him but Dagur held out his hand.

"No. Stay back. Make the shot. Find Hiccup." Dagur told him. Snotlout nodded before turning around to see two male prisoners watching the scene.

"Hey, don't get stand there. Get him into the drop ship." Snotlout ordered.

 **xXx**

Heather stayed with Astrid as she slept, damping a cloth on her forehead to wipe the sweat away. She suddenly heard someone coughing really badly, almost like they're choking on something.

"Hey, Savage!" She called out.

"Yeah?" He called back.

"Astrid says when that happens to roll him on his side." Heather told him. Savage nodded before walking over to him.

"I'm on it." He said as he walked over to the prisoners to help him. Heather then turned her attention back to Astrid, trying to help her in any way she could. The another load of coughing was heard. She turned around to see two male prisoners carrying someone else inside. Heather began to panic.

"Dagur? No." She said as she quickly rushed to his side. She began to try and move people to make more room. "Clear some space." Once a area was cleared she helped lay him down, only to have him cough up blood. "Oh no." He carried on coughing till he began to gasp for air. Heather began to clean his mouth and wipe he forehead from the sweat that began to form. "Hey, big brother." She then heard two words that she never thought she would hear come out of his mouth in his entire life.

"I'm scared." Heather had to fight back tears to keep her strong face on.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." She promised him. Dagur smiled as he carried on trying to breath.

"That's what I said to you the day you were born." He told her.

"I know. You told me that, like thousand times." She reminded him. He then moved his right hand so he was holding her left while her right stayed on his forehead.

"I'm glad you're here." He told her. Heather nodded. "Just get some rest now, okay?" Dagur nodded before closing his eyes.

 **xXx**

Hiccup and Snotlout entered the tent to grab the bomb, only there was one small problem.

"It's gone." Hiccup said. The bomb, which was sitting on the table before hand, had now disappeared. He and Snotlout quickly left the tent, only to bump into Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, where's Cami?" Hiccup asked his friend.

"She left a while ago." Fishlegs told him.

"Why would she leave without us?" Snotlout asked. Hiccup then realised.

"Because she's planting it herself."

 **xXx**

Camicazi ran through the forest with a bag on her back and a flashlight in her hand. She quickly stopped, placing her hands on her knees and she tried to get the air back into her lungs when she felt something drip down her nose. She moved her hand and wiped her nose to see blood on her hands.

"Crap."

 **xXx**

Dagur soon woke up after a little while. He sat up and looked round the room at everyone else who has been infected. He rubbed his nose as more blood fell. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to his right to see Astrid sitting down next to him, offering him a cup of water.

"Here." She said. He took the cup and drunk the water.

"You feeling better?" He asked. Astrid nodded.

"Yeah." She answered.

"You seen Heather?" He asked as he looked round the room for his sister.

"She was up all night helping people. Savage gave her a break." Astrid told him.

"Don't tell me you trust him, after he betrayed us." Dagur told her.

"Trust? No. I do believe in second chances, though." Astrid told him. Dagur then looked at the entrance.

"It's almost dawn. Better get everyone inside. If we lock the doors, maybe the grounders will think we're not home." Dagur said.

"Not everyone is sick." Astrid pointed out.

"Sick is better than dead." Dagur told her.

"You don't think Hiccup and Snotlout are gonna pull it off." Astrid said.

"Do you?" He asked her. There was a moment of silence before Astrid sighed and stood up.

"I'll get everyone inside."

 **xXx**

The sun had almost risen when Camicazi arrived at the bridge. She began to feel the full effects of the virus. Feeling dizzy as she took more and more steps. Feeling the energy leave her body with every breath she took. She carried on pushing her self more and more till she reached her target.

Falling to her knees she moved the backpack of her back and in front of her. She took out the two jars and metal container. "So simple. You can do this." She told herself as the air was leaving her lungs more and more.

Suddenly drums were being heard, along with the cry of war. Camicazi looked in front of her from when the sound was being heard.

Hiccup and Snotlout carried on running through the forest when the sound of drums was being hear. They both stopped their feet and began to look around.

"Do you hear that?" Snotlout asked.

"War drums." Hiccup answered before running towards the sound.

"Oh, we're running toward the war drums? I though we run away from the sound of war!" Snotlout yelled over to Hiccup, though now he couldn't hear him. "Oh, I hate this plan." Snotlout said to himself before running after his cousin.

They soon reached a hill side where they could see the bridge, and Camicazi still on it. "Cami!" Hiccup yelled hoping she would hear him, but she didn't. Snotlout aimed his gun to her to get a better look.

"She's still building the bomb." He told him. Hiccup quickly made a move to run to her but Snotlout quickly stopped him.

"Hey, Hiccup, wait. No. She's got this." Snotlout told him. They watched as she soon stood up and began to walk away from the bomb, but only get a couple of feet away from it as she soon collapsed. Hiccup then realised what was wrong with her.

"No." He whispered.

"Cami get out of there now!" Snotlout yelled.

"Line up the shot." Hiccup told his cousin before running towards the bridge. Snotlout cursed before lining it up.

Camicazi slowly crawled back to the bomb, where her gun laid a couple meters away from it. She grabbed hold of the gun and lined up the shoot, ready to fire, ready to make a sacrifice. They her vision became blurry, she begun to feel more faint.

"Cami!" Hiccup yelled as he ran closer and closer to her before finally lifting her up into her arms. "Hey, okay." He whispered as he carried her away from the bomb and off the bridge.

Snotlout looked through the gun to see fire touches through the trees. The grounders were close. Hiccup finally made off the bridge with Camicazi and through the trees for cover.

"Is the bomb ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Shoot, Snotlout!" Hiccup yelled. "Shoot! Shoot!" Snotlout lined up the shoot and pulled the trigger.

 **xXx**

For a distance, at the camp sight, Dagur, Astrid and other prisoners stood outside the drop ship when they heard a explosion go off. Everyone turned to the sound too see a large smoke cloud in the sky.

"They did it." Dagur said.

 **xXx**

Eret was packing anything he could in his satchel when Heather arrived. Eret looked up at her but quickly looked away with disappointment. Heather sighed.

"We had to stop the attack." Heather told him.

"Look. There is so much you don't understand." Eret told her. "The mountain men, they'll come, and they'll kill us all. We have to get out of here while we still got the chance."

"The mountain men? You mean, the drawings in your book?" Heather asked.

"Yeah. Now let's go. We got a lot of ground to cover before dark." Eret said as he began to walk to the exit of the tunnel.

"I'm not going with you." Heather said suddenly. Eret stopped and turned around. Heather looked like she was about to shed tears but kept up a strong face. She placed her hand in her coat pocket and took out a small book, Eret's drawing book. He slowly walked over to her, looking at his book. He reachout out his hand, Heather placing the book in his.

"You'll die here." Eret told her.

"Maybe." Heather said.

"Why?" He asked.

"You just said it. They're my people." Heather told him. She could no long hold back the tears that fell from her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She moved to kiss him on the lips but stopped herself, letting them fall onto his cheek instead. After a couple of seconds she pulled away, but not looking at his face. "Goodbye, Eret." She then quickly left the cave, not wanting to see his broke face.

 **xXx**

Everyone stood around, waiting to hear when the others would be back, waiting to help celebrate their victory. Though they did not have to wait much longer.

"There! It's them! Open the gate." Tuffnut yelled. The gates quickly opened. Soon Snotlout and Hiccup entered, both holding Camicazi up.

Cheering and applause where heard, though they ignored it till Astrid appeared. She took Snotlout's place, helping Hiccup get Camicazi into the drop ship. Snotlout then walked away to celebrate their victory. He gave Tuffnut a high-five followed by a hug.

Inside the drop ship Astrid stood by Camicazi checking her pules. Hiccup stood not far behind her watching. Astrid then turned around. "She's getting stronger." Astrid told him. Hiccup sighed in relief. She looked back at Camicazi to see she was waking up. Astrid walked away from her and past Hiccup, "I'll let you talk to her." Hiccup nodded before walking towards Camicazi on the hammock.

"Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." Hiccup said back.

"You saved my life." Camicazi said.

"Wouldn't have had to if you didn't take the bomb." Hiccup pointed out. There was a second of silence before Camicazi spoke.

"You hesitated." She said.

"What?" Hiccup said with confution.

"When Dagur asked who was gonna take it, you hesitated." Camicazi reminded him.

"It's what people do when they're considering something that might blow them up, right?" Hiccup said to her as a slight joke.

"You didn't hesitate when Astrid was falling." Camicazi told him. Hiccup didn't say anything. "You knew she had the virus, but you caught her, anyway."

"Cami-"

"You didn't hesitate."

"Cami, I love you." Hiccup told her.

"Not the way that you love Astrid." Camicazi told him. "You would die for her, but not for me."

"It's not like that-"

"It is though."

"Cami-" She then turned her head away from Hiccup so she no longer hand to look at him.

"Can you leave, please?" Camicazi said to him. Hiccup sighed before walking away from his sister.


End file.
